Reworking ancient ideas of Chinese lacquerware

A luxury watch movement with bronze seal from Shanghaibased collector and watchmaker Zhang Shuyang.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The only references he found to that kind of lacquerware were a 29-Chinese-character writing in a 16th-century book on lacquerware and a few ancient collections.

It took him five years of trial and error to develop the technique.

The works he produced were acquired by the Palace Museum in Beijing in 2011.

As of now, it takes him more than a year to make a bowl of hide-like lacquerware, but Gan believes it is worth it to keep polishing his skills and working on new ideas.

"Ancient hide-like lacquerware is generally dull in color and its texture is not that clear, so we have to improve on that," says Gan, giving an example of why his work is not yet done.

"When you see the items (he makes), they must have an ancient feel. But, beyond that, I have to blend in my own understanding and feelings and give the items a modern aesthetic."

Increasingly, professionals who devote themselves to reviving intangible cultural heritage are going beyond traditional techniques. For them, intangible cultural heritage can also create top-end luxury items.

At least, that is what was evident in Macao recently.

Feng Jie, 71, from Jiangxi's provincial capital Nanchang, also in the country's east, is well-known as a master for his technique of drawing on porcelain plates. He says one of the exhibits was priced at 2 million yuan ($308,000).

"So people should not be satisfied with just being craftsman. We should encourage the development of more masters."

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