URUSHI LACQUERWORK
ABOUT URUSHI LACQUERWORK
URUSHI HAS A HARDNESS OF 6 ON THE MOHS SCALE, WHICH CORRESPONDS TO THE HARDNESS OF GLASS. INTACT URUSHI LACQUERED OBJECTS HAVE BEEN FOUND DATING BACK 7000 YEARS, WHICH PROVES HOW DURABLE THIS LACQUER IS.
Urushi is a valuable natural resource and the most important material used in the traditional art of Japanese lacquering. Only 150g of sap can be collected from a 10-year-old mature lacquer tree. Compared to worldwide diamond exploitation which amounts to 30 tons annually, the annual exploitation of top-grade Japanese urushi is only 1.5 tons. Urushi is very hard-wearing and extremaly robust. A bowl coated with urushi can be filled with hot soup daily and the lacquer copes with such extreme temperature differences without any problems. Its chemical resistance is so prominent that not even aqua regia (nitro-hydrochloric acid), which dissolves gold ,can affect it.