Lacquer ware

In Chiangmai and its surrounding area, it is famous for its extensive tradition of creative handicrafts.One of the leading crafts in the area is Thai Lacquer ware. Lacquer ware factories are located throughout Sankhampaeng and the Hang Dong road. The places where Lacquer ware can be bought in Chiangmai are Chiangmai’s Night Bazaar and on the Tapae Road. Because of how successful the business of making lacquer ware has been, there are a large variety of handmade lacquer ware items that are made in many different materials, paints, and quality.

There are many different materials that people use to make lacquer ware. Thai lacquer ware artisans frequently used bamboo or teak as the wood base and the black resin of the ‘Lak’ –tree as coating material. In the more business part of lacquer ware, materials and processes have generally given way to use wood rather than teak.

Traditional lacquer ware making also involved the use of natural pigment in the hand-painted designs and a slow, steady lacquer coating and drying process which usually lasted for many weeks and even months to finish each piece of lacquer ware. One type of lacquer ware that requires much more sophisticated workmanship is the Tai Khern Gold Leaf. When the engraving is carefully applied to the surface, the black background is covered with a yellow gummy paint. A coat of lacquer is then put on to the entire surface. A semi-dry gold leaf is then place over it and the piece is then left to dry for about 20 hours. Finally, the whole lacquer piece is washed with water. While it is being washed, the gold leaf falls off, and it leaves a shimmering gold engraved design against a black background.

The high quality lacquer ware houses of Chiangmai today still apply at least seven coats of lacquer to each piece and allow about one week between coatings for drying. Some factories manufacture several different grades of lacquer ware, including those with seven or more lacquer coats and those with only two or three. Bamboo is still the base wood for many of the high quality lacquer ware, while many other hard and softwoods are used for those at the lower end of the quality scale.

The many ways in which people can make lacquer ware in the different materials, paints, and quality are staggering. It is shown that lacquer ware is a big business in the country of Thailand. In addition, lacquer ware is also part of Thailand’s culture as well. People in Thailand can show very well how creative they are in lacquer ware. As long as lacquer ware is still popular in Thailand, people will continue to make lacquer ware.