A golden opportunity

Lacquer is a natural resin that can help prevent items made of wood from cracking, iron from rusting and pottery from leaking. Ancient artisans either ground gold into powder and mixed it with lacquer or stuck thin gold foil onto lacquer when doing the inlaying on dried wood.

"It was for both preservation and decorative purposes," Hou says.

Different from lacquer works found in other regions around China, gold lacquer inlaying integrates various artistic techniques from across the country and features distinctive royal elements, such as patterns of auspicious clouds and dragons.

"Gold is stable and a royal symbol, and the craft allowed for the creation of durable things for the emperors," Hou says.

"The royal families brought together the country's top artisans, all contributing their skills to the creation of cultural items, such as color paintings from Shanxi and inlaying from Yangzhou."

A piece of gold lacquer inlaying can feature one or multiple decoration techniques and includes a variety of elements inspired by literature, religion and mythology. A good measure of the craft can be attained by visiting the Palace Museum in Beijing.

"More than 70 percent of wooden furniture items and lacquer works there have gold lacquer inlays," Hou says.

The craft, when learned today, involves four major parts that cover molding, design, lacquering and decorating. Artisans learn how to make and apply tile powder and lacquer to woodwork. "The coatings made of tile powder smooth the rough surface of the wood, laying the groundwork for applying lacquer."