The process of creating a sculpture
Clay interior of head from 3-D scan – Smithsonian
Creating a sculpture using the complex dry lacquer technique involved many time consuming steps that required patience, artistry, and funding from imperial patrons. Lacquer comes from the resin of Rhus Verniciflua trees in southern China and is a natural glue that hardens when exposed to oxygen and humidity. It is an extremely tough material that is resistant to heat, liquid, and insects and makes for a resilient sculpture that won’t corrode or rot. Modern day analyses of the sculptures have revealed additives to the lacquer such as sawdust, oil, partially burnt bone, and even animal blood all added to bulk up the lacquer1. The artisans built a clay form and wrapped many layers of cloth, typically hemp, dipped in the resin around the clay figure. Only one layer went on at a time and needed to dry completely before the next layer could be applied, which could take days per layer. This layering process continued until the approximate shape was achieved2. The techniques of wrapping could make the cloth look like skin or folds in clothing. While still wet, the artisans molded the lacquer juice mixture which required a high degree of expertise and demonstrated their ability to make cloth and lacquer elegantly reflect facial features and drapery folds3.
Once the figure was complete, the artisans applied finer layers of resin lacquer to build up the areas around the lips, eyes, nose, and ears all requiring a delicate touch. An opening would be left at the back or the artisans would cut off the heads to remove the clay forms from the inside of the head and the body. While the heads were off, additional details, like the Buddha’s third eye, were set from inside the hollow heads. Once the clay was removed, the hollow sculptures weighed only thirty pounds4. The artisans then added additional layers of the lacquer mixture, rubbed them down with a grindstone until perfectly smooth, and then polished, gilded, and painted it5. X-rays of one of the Buddhas revealed an additional seventeen extra layers6! It is the use of the dry lacquer mixture for the molding of the skin, clothing and details applied in painstaking layers that define the statue as a dry lacquer sculpture. Merely applying a coat of lacquer to objects does not constitute dry lacquer sculpting7.
