Techniques NEGORO NURI Neguro Nuri is one of the earliest types of Oriental lacquer ware. The process was developed by priests of the Japanese monasteries in the 14th century. The imitation/ faux process involves the application of multiple layers of black oil paint, sanded smooth as glass between each coat. The final coat of paint is a specific mix to imitate the reds of the 14th century. The piece is then delicately rubbed to simulate centuries of handling. The final coats of tinted varnish give the piece its lustrous depth. DECOUPAGE Decoupage was first noted in 17th century Italy. Venetian furniture had become the rage of all of Europe. When demand outpaced supply, enterprising artists had thousands of copies made of their drawings. The cabinetmakers glued the copies of the artwork onto the commissioned pieces and hired modestly talented painters to fill in the colors - the Venetian version of paint by the numbers. This concept quickly caught on - and in a frenzy of snipping and gluing, not even some of the valuable paintings of Watteau, Boucher, and Fragonard, among others, were spared from the knife. Decoupage evolved to the 19th century Victorian floral draped cherub fantasies and then drifted out of favor. GILDING Gold, silver and bronze embellishments were first discovered in the tombs of the pharaohs dating back further than 3,000 years. The gilded mask of Tutankhamen's mummy is one of the most recognizable examples of gilding. Gilded objects flourished in Byzantine mosaics, medieval manuscripts and religious works of art in the Middle Ages where the use of gold was confined to Asia and the Middle East. In Europe it was not until the 14th century that gilding was extensively used - applied primarily to icons and other ecclesiastic works. Extraordinary gilded rooms can be found in the gold ballrooms of the Kharitonenko & Igumnov Mansions in Moscow built in the late 19th century, as well as the baroque and rococcco interiors of the most splendid homes of continental Europe. Gold leaf (as well as bronze and silver leaf) was achieved by beating gold into thin sheets, hammering it between layers of sheepskin and ox intestines on stone slabs. Today gold leaf is created by hydraulic presses which beat it into a thickness of 0.000 mm and it is then cut into small squares for application. A variety of different colors of gold can be found, dependent on its purity - the higher the carat the more brilliant the gold. The lower the carat, the more impurities in the form of other metals can be found. There are many different forms of leaf today - ranging from platinum, silver, white, palladium, or composition leaf - as well as the traditional, and most aesthetically brilliant leaf - gold. GLAZES Glazes, translucent films of color, will enhance any piece, giving it depth and drama, as well as enabling the artisan to create elegant graphics to simulate nature as in marbling, graining and the emulation of a variety of precious stones. Glazes accentuate, modulate or create warm (or cold) intensity as the glaze brilliantly highlights targeted areas, and/or creates the luster of satin, the richness of velvet or the brilliance of a jewel. The paintings of many artists of the past were often enriched by the careful manipulation of a transparent glaze. TORTOISE SHELL Tortoise Shell was used as an ornamental veneer in the Orient. With its soft tawny mottling, its translucency, and its pliability, it is a versatile decorative material. As early as the 8th century, painted tortoiseshell overlay was used on different - backgrounds - white, yellow, red, green or golden (gold leaf), which imbued the shell with greater textural depth, emphasizing or altering its color. The decorative use of tortoise shell reached its peak in the 18th century when the famous French cabinetmaker, Andre Charles Boulle used tortoise shell extensively as inlays on his furniture. Tortoise shell used to come from Viet Nam and today comes primarily from Madagascar, Cuba, the Philippines and California. Tortoise shell has never been inexpensive - and today, not only is it prohibitively expensive, it is also prohibited in the United States. SCOTTISH PENWORK Traveling in France in 1787, Lord Gardenstone was particularly impressed with the financial success of the lacquer workshops of Chantilly. He was convinced that such a trade would do equally well on his Scottish estates in Kincardenshire and immediately hired Vincent Bixbie, a Belgian lacquer worker who specialized in landscape scenes. By the 1800's the trade was flourishing. Tiny, elaborately decorated snuff boxes sold for about two guineas. The woods favored by the Scottish artists - plane, maple and probably boxwoods - were well suited to the penwork technique which stained the outlines of the design black, leaving the designs themselves in pale wood. Traditionally the piece was treated with tannin rich water which stained it a deep amber. By the 1820s Scottish penwork reached its peak of excellence. The designs were noted for their oak leaves, thistles, roses, trellises and other repetitive and finely detailed designs. It was a short lived craze, and by the 1840s penwork was in decline. LAPIS LAZULI Lapis is the Latin word for stone; lazuli is the Arabic word for heaven. The words were combined by the Romans to designate a semi-precious substance of rich deep blue flecked with tiny yellow pyrites known as "fools gold". The beauty of this substance is in the glint of gold deep within the blue. In the 15th century Italian painters ground this stone to provide the sky-blue pigment used in precious altar pieces, for the Virgin's mantle, and the robes of the saints and angels. Today, lapis is far too valuable to be used only as a pigment. The deepest darkest lapis of gem quality was found in Persia, Siberia and China. The stone is now even more scarce - and the present supply - a softer blue with grey drifts of material are found in Afghanistan, Chile and the United States. FAUX MARBLE "Faux Marble is the gateway to the fantasies."          - Isabel O'Neil One of the most ingenious painted fantasies is that inspired by marble. Faux Marble can be dated back to 2200 BC where it appeared on Myceneaen pottery. Later, despite a plentiful supply of real marble, painted marble appeared on Roman columns, frescoed walls & Michelangelo's work. Painted marble followed the progress of much of faux art - the church to the palazzo to the country villa. Painted faux marble was regarded as an expression of high artistry - and came to be valued more than the real thing. EGGSHELL LACQUER Eggshell Laacquer - usually a black lacquer inlaid with eggshells resembling a mosaic - is a decorative treatment created by Oriental craftsmen. While it is not known how or when this lacquer evolved, it did become quite the vogue in the 1930s amongst lacquer connoisseurs. The popular name for this type of lacquer it tamago-ji. The literal name is keiran nuri - from kei meaning chicken and nuri meaning lacquer. According to Taro Mauyama, who practiced the technique of eggshell inlay on lacquer in Matsumoto, Japan, this art originated in China and came to Japan via Korea. REGENCY PENWORK Regency Penwork is a type of decoration applied to japanned furniture in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Regency penwork appeared only in Great Britain - which is curious because the neo-classical impulse, which played such a large part in penworks' development, was an international one - and yet there is not a single example on the Continent or in America. Penwork is distinguished by its exquisite detail and shading executed in black India ink on a white surface with a fine quill pen - preferably raven or goose. Penwork, similar to eggshell lacquer is one of the few arts which has never been mechanized - remaining to this day - strictly crafted by hand. MALACHITE Especially fine specimens of malachite have been found in the copper mines of Russia, Tangangyika and the Congo. This magnificent stone, the most precious of the semi-precious stones, was used by the Romans and Egyptians for elaborate decorative art and jewelry. Fabrege used malachite in his exquisite objets de vertu. The Russian aristocracy made use of malachite lavishly an extravagantly in its architecture and furnishings. The challenge for both the Venetians and the modern artisan creating the faux malachite is capturing the depth and beauty of malachite's captivating color. FAUX BOIS The fantasy of painted wood goes back for thousands of years. As far back as the Bronze Age pottery was decorated with imaginative impressions of wood and in Egypt, a country with little wood, produced vividly realistic versions of imagined wood. The French designated their version of this fantasy as faux bois - false wood. 18th century examples of faux bois are now regarded as treasures. In the 19th century, in France, entire shop fronts were painted in faux bois. A brilliant example of faux bois and perspective intarsia, is the Gubbio Studiolo - found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. IVORY Elephant tusk has been the principal source of ivory, with smaller quantities from hippopotamus, walrus and narwhal tusks. Ivory has been worn as jewelry and carved into boxes and statuettes since ancient times. During the 18th century it was used as inlays for furniture and decorative objects. Its popularity peaked in the 19th century - and finally, because of environmental laws the ivory trade has been made illegal in many countries. Hence - faux ivory well done has become increasingly valued. VERNIS MARTIN Four brothers, Guillaume, Simon-Etienne, Julien and Robert Martin were renowned for their interpretation of lacquer art. By 1745 their version - popularly known as Vernis Martin - a distinctive, usually green varnish, enhanced by gold dust - became synonymous with European lacquer. Although green was by far the more frequently used color, other background colors were sometimes seen - blue and yellow for example. Gold dust was incorporated into the base color in imitation of the pear skin (nashjii) and raised gold lacquer (takamakie) - processes in Japan that were much in vogue throughout Europe at the end of the 17th and early 18th centuries. Guilliaume Martin painted carriages and was head lacquerer to the King - a decree of 1744 gave Simone Etienne (and his brothers) an "exclusive 20 year monopoly on the manufacture of all sorts of pieces in relief in the Japanese and Chinese style". Madame de Pompadour ordered great quantities from the Martins. Louis XV commissioned the brothers to paint over a palace ceiling painted by Charles Boule applying the Martin technique and it soon became de rigeur for European royalty to employ the Martins to apply their signature colors and delicate techniques. In 1766, with the death of Robert, the art of the brothers ceased.