- Jun 2, 2025
History of Vietnamese Lacquerware: 2000-Year Journey
Imagine standing in a lacquerware workshop in Ha Thai village on an early winter morning. The crisp air carries the distinctive scent of lacquer resin, while an artisan's hands gently stroke the twelfth layer of lacquer on a wooden panel.
Vietnamese lacquerware is not merely a handicraft product. It tells the story of dialogue between humans and time, between tradition and modernity, between patience and the rush of our contemporary world.
Vietnamese lacquerware art - where time and patience combine to create immortal beauty
Why Do We Need to Understand Lacquerware in This Age?
As modern life pushes us into a whirlwind of speed, lacquerware art invites us to pause and reflect.
How can a traditional craft survive and flourish through thousands of years of history? The answer lies in its very essence.
Traditional lacquerware techniques - teaching us that process is as valuable as result
Lessons from lacquerware for the digital age:
- The value of process is as important as the result
- Patience is a skill, not just a personality trait
- True quality needs time to develop
- Tradition and innovation can coexist
Unlike Chinese or Japanese lacquerware, the unique polishing method of Vietnamese lacquerware demonstrates the spirit of creativity within traditional frameworks.
Each layer of lacquer is rubbed and reapplied not only to create durability, but also to test the craftsman's patience.
The Historical Journey: From Necessity to Art
Origins in Dong Son Culture
Over 2000 years ago, ancient Vietnamese people made a serendipitous discovery: resin from lacquer trees not only protected objects from weather but also created unexpected beauty. Lacquerware objects found in ancient tombs in northern Vietnam prove that even in ancient times, Vietnamese people understood that beauty and function could harmonize.
Millennial lacquerware heritage - the journey from essential needs to refined art
The 1925 Revolution
In 1925, during a working session at Hanoi's Temple of Literature, Joseph Inguimberty - a French painter - was deeply impressed by the golden decorative lacquer panels. He immediately proposed to Victor Tardieu, Director of the Indochina Fine Arts School, to include lacquerware in the curriculum.
The 1925 lacquerware revolution - when Vietnamese tradition met Western innovative thinking
While traditional colors were red and black, many new colors were added through French influence: gold, silver, and eggshell. Nguyen Gia Tri led the golden period from 1938-1944 with masterpieces like "Rural Scene" (1939) and "Young Woman by the Cotton Tree" (1944).
Vietnamese Lacquerware Philosophy in Every Step
The Story of 12 Lacquer Layers
To understand lacquerware philosophy, we need to delve into the process of creating a panel - the raw framework of a painting. 12 coats of lacquer, sawdust, and clay binding - these numbers are not just technical specifications but lessons about perseverance.
12 layers of lacquer stacked like a story of persistence - each layer a lesson about time
Materials Tell Stories
Lacquer resin is extracted from lacquer trees in the mountains of Phu Tho province, similar to rubber tapping. Interestingly, fresh resin is milky white, only turning brown when exposed to air - like a metaphor for time's natural transformation.
The characteristic black color of Vietnamese lacquerware comes from the reaction between resin and iron when stirred for many days.
Fresh lacquer resin turning from milky white to brown - a metaphor for life's natural transformation
Four Stages, Four Philosophies
1. Preparation - Philosophy of Foundation
Choosing the base material not only determines durability but also influences the "character" of the artwork. Wood brings warmth, bamboo creates lightness, and even high-strength pressed paper is used for making boxes or tea trays.
2. Lacquer Application - The Art of Accumulation
From 12 to 15 layers of traditional lacquer, each layer must dry completely. For colored lacquer layers to dry, paintings must be stored in sealed, wind-free cabinets with high humidity. This is not a waste of time, but a process of accumulating experience and patience.
The stage of storing paintings in sealed cabinets - quiet space for art to mature slowly
3. Decoration - When Tradition Meets Creativity
Lacquer then, cockroach wing lacquer as adhesive, along with vermillion, silver leaf, gold leaf, mother-of-pearl, eggshell, shells, and bamboo charcoal are painted on the black background. Artisans like Vu Huy Men from Ha Thai village have added eggshell and mother-of-pearl to create new yellow and vermillion colors.
4. Polishing - Philosophy of Persistence
Paintings must be worn down to reveal the image, and may be painted and polished multiple times. This is the "subtraction method" - colors are created not by adding but by removing. Sometimes to find beauty, we need to eliminate excess.
The technique of polishing to reveal images - the "subtraction" philosophy of finding beauty through elimination
Three Famous Lacquerware Villages
To understand Vietnamese lacquerware today, we need to look at three representative craft villages. Each village has found its own way to preserve tradition in the modern world.
Ha Thai (Hanoi) - Village of Innovation
This is the largest lacquerware village in northern Vietnam. In 2003, the Japanese government invested in building a 6.3-hectare industrial zone to support the village's development.
Ha Thai village with its 6.3-hectare industrial zone - symbol of combining tradition and modernity
What's special about Ha Thai:
- Artisan Vu Huy Men experimented with adding eggshell and mother-of-pearl to lacquerware, creating new and unique colors
- Dinh Van Thanh was the first to bring Vietnamese lacquerware to exhibitions in Paris (early 20th century)
- This village shows that tradition can develop without losing its essence
Tuong Binh Hiep (Binh Duong) - Balancing Old and New
This village is called "the cradle of artistic lacquerware." They have solved a difficult problem: How to preserve traditional art while making money?
Tuong Binh Hiep lacquerware workshop - where artistic preservation and economic development find balance
Smart solution:
- Create two types of products in parallel
- Type 1: Modern, beautiful products that sell well in international markets
- Type 2: Traditional products with classic 12-15 layer techniques, preserving artistic essence
- Money from type 1 helps fund type 2 production
Cat Dang (Nam Dinh) - Innovation from Local Materials
This village specializes in lacquerware on wood (altars, palanquins...). But they have made an interesting innovation: lacquerware on bamboo.
Lacquerware products on bamboo from Cat Dang - innovation from local materials, global spirit
Why this matters:
- Bamboo is locally available and cheaper than wood
- Products are lighter and easier to transport for export
- Proves that old techniques can be applied to new materials
- Cat Dang products now export to the US, Europe, and Japan
These three craft villages show there are many ways to preserve tradition - not necessarily doing exactly as before, but importantly maintaining the spirit and quality.
The Art of Diversification
Stories of New Techniques
Today, lacquerware has developed into many different methods:
- Son mai son long (layered lacquer)
- Son mai ve mong (thin painting lacquer)
- Son mai khoet trung (carved lacquer)
- Son mai dap noi (raised lacquer)
- Son mai can trung (eggshell inlay)
- Son mai can xa cu, can oc (mother-of-pearl and shell inlay)
Diverse modern lacquerware techniques - the traditional river flowing through new creative terrain
Each technique tells its own story about creativity within traditional frameworks.
This diversity shows that tradition is not a rigid stone block but a flowing river, always changing to adapt to new terrain.
Success in International Markets
The Journey to Conquer the World
When Vietnamese lacquerware products from Cat Dang village reached the US, EU, Japan, Russia, and ASEAN countries, it was not just commercial success but cultural victory.
Vietnamese lacquerware products in international markets - cultural victory far beyond commercial success
Success factors:
- Vietnamese people's patience
- Philosophy of living in harmony with nature
- Progressive spirit in preserving tradition
- Value of creating beautiful and sustainable things
2003: An Important Milestone
When JICA dedicated 6.3 hectares to build the Lacquerware Development Industrial Cluster in Ha Thai, they invested not only in production but in the future of a culture. Establishing the Traditional Lacquerware Association created networks connecting artisans, ensuring knowledge transmission.
Conclusion: The Journey of Discovery Continues
Through this exploration of Vietnamese lacquerware art, CHUS hope to have brought you fresh perspectives on a valuable cultural heritage.
To let you experience the refined beauty of lacquerware art directly, CHUS proudly introduces our carefully curated collection of handmade lacquerware products.
Discover our unique lacquerware collection - where each product is an artwork, a cultural story waiting to be told in your home. This is your opportunity to own and directly experience the profound spiritual value of Vietnamese lacquerware.
