A pine commode lacquered using the japanning technique with four tiers of drawers in oak and pine separated by panels.

The top tier is folded out to produce a writing desk, which is divided into two sections, the lower with four drawers, two larger ones in the centre and smaller ones on either side, and the top section which is divided into seven pigeonholes. The inside of the drawers is lacquered imitating the

 Maki-e 

is a Japanese lacquer technique consisting in the application of layers of polished urushi lacquer, a resin from the Rhus succedanea or Rhus vernicifera tree, also known as the lacquer tree. This resin is applied in layers and fixed with various pigments, and then sprinkled with gold and silver while the lacquer is still wet.

technique.

The edge of the smooth top is surrounded by a moulding. The four feet are not the originals. Marks can be seen in the wood on the four corners, which would lead one to suspect that it originally had another kind of foot. The handles and escutcheons are also from a later period.

The commode is decorated with patterns representing scenes of hunting lions and other animals in the countryside, with trees and pagodas. The figures in relief against a black ground are made with a mixture of white preparation (plaster) and paper to add volume, and then gilded and profiled.

In the 17th century, with the growth of trade relations with the East, there was a boom in Europe for exotic oriental objects, especially when lacquered, thanks to imports from China, India, Japan and Ceylon, mainly from the port of Canton. In the middle of the century, Japan closed its borders to trade with the West—except for the Dutch, who maintained their activity although with restrictions. Battles to control the sea hampered trade, and reduced the inflow of lacquered objects to the West, which were then beginning to be produced by European cabinetmakers.

The oriental lacquer technique was a jealously guarded secret until 1720, the year when the Jesuit priest Filippo Bonanni described it in his Trattato sopra la vernice. It was made using a resin called

 urushi 

is a brownish resin which polymerises on contact with the air and dries. To obtain different colours of lacquer it is mixed with various pigments, such as iron oxide, which are what give it its tonality. The addition of gold leaf or sprinkled gold dust while it is still wet enhances the carved figures or adorns the background, and once dry it can be worked or carved.

tapped from the trunk of the lacquer tree, Toxicodendron vernicifluum.

 urushi 

is a brownish resin which polymerises on contact with the air and dries. To obtain different colours of lacquer it is mixed with various pigments, such as iron oxide, which are what give it its tonality. The addition of gold leaf or sprinkled gold dust while it is still wet enhances the carved figures or adorns the background, and once dry it can be worked or carved.

produces a type of intoxication in people not accustomed to using it, but is unusual among those who have been using lacquered objects since birth. Given this circumstance, and also for the lack of this kind of tree in Europe, in response to the growth in demand, European cabinetmakers developed their own techniques to recreate it with the materials available to them.

European lacquer was given different names depending on the country where it was developed or popularised, like japanning in Great Britain and charol in Spain. Instead of using , lacquering was done with resins like rubber-lacquer, copal and sandarac dissolved in ethanol; later on, resins soluble in oil also began to be used, although it was not known exactly which ones as the recipes were secrets of the individual workshops and even today the vast majority still remain unknown.

Production methods could also vary greatly. One of those which is documented consisted in applying layers of rubber-lacquer either on the wood or on a layer of a preparation of sulphate or calcium carbonate on top of which a layer of black or other colours (red, green…), a mix of pigments and agglutinating agent were applied immediately afterwards.

In certain areas, with the final purpose of creating the figures in relief that would later be drawn, a mixture of adhesive and calcium sulphate and sometimes paper was added to make them stand out, and then the required spaces were gilded before applying various layers of rubber-lacquer to bestow the desired gloss.

The patterns were generally designs borrowed from or inspired by oriental porcelains and other lacquered objects. Another source of inspiration was illustrations by travellers, like those produced by Johan Nieuhoff, a Dutch explorer who joined the services of the Dutch East India Company and journeyed extensively throughout China in the 17th century.

Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing, one of the first manuals for the European version of Japanese style lacquering, was published in 1688 in England by John Stalker and George Parker, explaining different patterns, figures and methods for lacquering.

Making lacquered objects became so fashionable that in the mid 18th century Robert Sayer published in London the famous The Ladies Amusement, or The Whole Art of Japanning Made Easy, a book dedicated to ladies who wished to entertain themselves making these lacquered objects.