Xiamen Lacquer-thread Sculpture

Xiamen lacquer-thread sculpture descends from ancient Buddhist statuary, inspired by Song and Yuan line-carving and gesso techniques. It took form in the late Ming and early Qing and matured by the late Qing, entering the first national ICH list in 2006 (Ⅷ-55) as a traditional art unique to Minnan.

Aged brick powder, raw lacquer and cooked tung oil are pounded together into a supple 'lacquer-thread clay,' rolled by hand into threads as fine as hair, then coiled, knotted, wound and stacked over a body to build raised designs before gilding and coloring—an intricate, wholly hand-made process.

Dense, vivid and three-dimensional, the patterns adorn Buddhist figures, porcelain and decorative pieces; hailed as a peerless Chinese craft, it is among Xiamen's most recognizable traditional art forms.