photo: SAIKI Taku
Panel, owl design, maki-e
| Artist | TERAI Naoji |
|---|---|
| Year | 1975 |
| Material/ Technique | Japanese lacquer, egg shell |
| Size/ Duration | H30 × W34.5cm |
| Copyright Notice | © TERAI Naonori |
| Year of acquisition/ donation | 2004 |
| Description | Born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan in 1912. Died there in 1998. Terai specialized in the lacquerware section of the Ishikawa Prefecture Industrial School, then entered the lacquerware course in the craft section of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. His teachers were ROKKAKU Shisui, MATSUDA Gonroku, and YAMAZAKI Kakutaro. He also studied the application of lacquer to metal at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research. His career as a lacquer artist began when his work was accepted for the First Japan Art Exhibition (Nitten) in 1946. He earned a reputation for delicate and richly expressive lacquerware created with the technique of eggshell inlay. He was also known for his research in electrolytic processing of aluminum forms for application of lacquer. In 1983, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class. In 1985 he was designated a Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property. In Terai’s lacquer works applied to an aluminum body, as exemplified by "Water container, 'Aster,' maki-e on metal body" the metal forms are created by drawing out the metal by hammering, producing curves with a slight tension. Combining great skill and artistic sensibility, he has used eggshell inlay to produce marvelously expressive bird and plant designs on a variety of pieces. In "Tray, waterside design, maki-e", made when the artist was in his mid-fifties, a faint vermilion glow is created by applying red lacquer on the underside of white eggshell. Three flying cranes are depicted with a sense of speed using three maki-e techniques – metal inlay, mother-of-pearl inlay, and sprinkled gold powder. Terai has applied eggshell inlay to tea caddies, incense cases, and fountain pens with richly poetic designs that combine realism and fantasy, using such motifs as cranes, herons, chrysanthemums, and plum blossoms. |
NOTES
This Collection Data page contains the works and materials in the collection of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, as of April 1, 2018.
Artists are listed alphabetically by artist’s surname.
Works and materials by the same artists are listed according to the date of the work in principle.
Works whose dates are unidentified are listed at the end of each item. Some works are not listed according to the date of work due to their relations.
The data of works and materials are listed in order of title, production year, material/technique/form, dimensions, donor’s name, copyright holder and credit for photograph.
Dimensions are given by height (H) x width (W) in centimeters for plane work, and height (H) x width (W) x depth (D) in cm for 3-D work. Diameter (Ø) is used for circular work.
For the name of country or city, the name currently used in English is listed in principle.