A Study Of The Yangzhou Lacquer Art And Its Application To Furniture Design

The Chinese lacquer art boasts a7000years’history. However, such a time-honored art is now gradually failing to be handed down from the past generations with the rapid development of modernization in China. The unique artistic features of Yangzhou lacquer art make lacquer furniture top the list of Chinese classic furniture. This special lacquer art, which is part of the social material culture and a product of the economic and cultural development of a time, a country or a nation, can reflect their historical features and culture traditions.At first, the author analyzes the history features of the Yangzhou lacquer art ranging from Han dynasty up to now by consulting relevant books and materials. Moreover, during this process, various developments of the art in different times can be detected. The aesthetical features of the Yangzhou lacquer art when applied to the traditional lacquer furniture are finally gained by summarizing the skills and ornamental patterns of the traditional lacquer furniture produced in Yangzhou. The author, at the same time, finds out factors hampering the development of modern lacquer furniture produced in Yangzhou such as market, history and design. Plus, the author has finds out a new way to develop the design of the furniture by using modern designing philosophy and combining product development with innovative design. The common features between the traditional lacquer furniture and the modern ones are also results of this research.To sum up, we can safely draw the following four conclusions. First, new ways to develop modern lacquerwares in China are employing modern designing philosophy, expanding their practicability and inheriting our traditional lacquer culture. Second, the evolution of the forms of lacquer furniture ranging from the Qin and Han Dynasties y to Ming and Qing Dynasties and the history of its applications to the traditional furniture are also two results of the research. The author also analyzes and summarizes the ornamental patterns and aesthetic features of the traditional lacquer furniture produced in Yangzhou, a perfect combination of aesthetic and practicability that bear the traditional characteristics of Chinese culture. Third, various factors that will influence the development of modern lacquer furniture in Yangzhou are found out, such as market, history and design. Forth, the author also detects four ways to develop the market, namely enhancing their brand impact, creating a new environment for their development, exploring new techniques and developing related products that integrate multiple modern designing elements.