For the past two thousand years—far before the development of plastic laminations and modern-day adhesives—lacquer was (and remains) a superior material. Red Luster: Lacquer and Leatherworks of Asia demonstrates the aesthetic impact of red lacquer and its faux imitators in leatherworks and other materials. The glossy sheen, slick texture and deep colors of lacquer have long been a prized material throughout Asia but the materials to create “true lacquers” do not exist in all of Asia.

Different raw materials originating from different types of trees and even insects distinguish East Asian lacquers (China, Japan and Korea) from those of Central and South Asia (Turkey, Iran, India and Tibet) or Southeast Asia (Myanmar). The relatively slow construction process, coupled with regionally restricted supplies of raw material, made production relatively exclusive. Thus all of Asia also developed imitation or faux lacquers created by an even greater variety of materials and techniques. Many faux lacquers became important forms of art in their own right. This is the first lacquer exhibition to span the vastly different cultural and historical legacies of Asia from the Near to Far East.

Funding for this exhibition provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and the Metropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies.