Japanning is the technique of using lacquer and resin to decorate furniture and other objects that started in East Asia. The Europeans mimicked Japanning from the 17th century until the middle of the 19th century. Wolverhampton and Bilston were renowned for their japanese communities.
What is the Japanning Process?
Japanning is the decoration and treatment of antique furniture using lacquer and resin. Japanning in Europe started when they imitated East Asian lacquer work. Japanning used a deep black lacquer as a base and was initially tried onto furniture. Japanned items use gold accents to create unique designs.
What is the History of Japanning?
The Japanning process started in China, Japan, and India. Lacquerwork from East Asia spread to Europe in the 17th century and had a great demand. The Italians then began to replicate the Asian lacquer work method. The European japanning technique involves layers of heat-dried resin-based varnishes. The base gives a smooth, glossy surface similar to shellac. European japanned goods are available in green, blue, and red hues. European japanning was described in the 1688 Oxford publication of Stalker and Parker’s Treatise on Japanning and Varnishing.
Colonial Boston was a major market for japanned goods in the United States.
Popular Japanning Centers?
Bilston and Wolverhampton were renowned centers for the manufacture of japanned products. The 1818 business directories listed 20 Japanner firms in Wolverhampton and 15 In Bilston.
Japaning was extremely popular until the mid-19th century. Almost every middle-class household possessed a japanned piece. This shifted throughout the 1880s when demand for japanning and tin plating dropped. By the 1920s, the japanning business in the West Midlands had nearly vanished.
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