The first use of lacquer is lost in the mists of time. However we do know that in the second Millennium BC, there was mention of a painted Lacquered screen and a sort of tambourin which dated from the time of the emperor YU. 

Whether the lacquer was painted, inlaid sculpted (Tiao Tsi), gold embossed (Ts'iang Kin), engraved, inlaid eggshell or mother of pearl, coromandel or Ke-Hui, the variety of techniques used in the orient was infinite, and the only thing the craftsmen had in common was the sap they used.

The art of lacquering reached its peak in China in the XVIII century, under the Ming Dynasty, and its influence extended as far as Europe. But although the technique was undoubtedly invented in China, it was the Japanese, initiated by Chinese artists, who developed the technique of lacquer to its most perfect level, becoming the absolute art of Japan during the XVIII-XIX Centuries. 

The art of lacquering can be taught, but above all, it is learned. It is much more than a technique, demanding both patience and skill. 

Each lacquer has a life of its own, its fickleness and intractability are discovered, day after day, year after year. 

No two lacquers are ever alike, no two craftsman ever work in the same way.

The raw material itself changes with time. It is more or less docile, more or less fluid, depending on the season, the age of the tree and its origin. 

The resinous sap of Rhus Vemicifera is collected during five months in small bamboo buckets. When it comes into contact with the air, it darkens slightly and takes on the consistency of Latex. 

Conserved in a humid dust-free atmosphere, it separates into different layers, of which the best, the top one ("son-mal-giau" in Chinese), will be used for the final coating of lacquer. 

At this stage the preparation of the lacquer begins. The craftsmen are extremely discreet about which additives they use, whether it is Tong Yeau oil, iron sulphate or rice vinegar. The mystery is even deeper when it comes to colouring. 

A host of ingredients are used : wood oils and all sorts of cinnabarite powders whose names evoke the art of the apothecary or the alchemist.

But whatever is added, the sap can never be white... This is why the technique called "Eggshell" lacquering has been invented. Its origin lies perhaps in an attempt to reproduce the whites of the eyes of the characters on a screen, or the wings of a heron.

In any case these first small inlays of white Eggshell in final layer, have become a technique and an art in themselves. 

It really is the work of a craftsman. Once the first layers of lacquer have been applied and sanded, the artist composes his design or mosaic by inlaying, one by one, the fragments of Eggshell. The final layers are then applied and the design made will reappear after extremely delicate manual polishing. 

Olga ALOY I PERIAGO was initiated into the an of lacquering at the Massana Conservatory in Barcelona (Spain), and completed her training in Japan. 

S. T . DUPONT have entrusted her with the creation of several exceptional pieces using the ancient technique of Eggshell Lacquering. She has created objects which vary from pure mosaic to stylized representations inspired by the work of her compatriot the architect GAUDI, whose famous stairs (caracoles) of the "Sgrada familia" and "Pedreda" can be admired in Barcelona.