SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS OF ANTIQUE LACQUERS FROM A 17TH‐CENTURY JAPANESE ORNAMENTAL CABINET

A recent restoration of a 17th‐century Japanese lacquer cabinet revealed various later treatments over the original black coating to maintain and preserve the high gloss of the oriental cabinet over the course of time and to meet changing tastes. The comprehensive investigation on a series of coating samples was executed by means of two hyphenated techniques: gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and pyrolysis combined with GC–MS (Py‐GC–MS). The results showed that the original lacquer is based on urushi and linseed oil, while the past interventions are composed of sandarac, shellac and dammar. Additional microscopic studies proved the multi‐layer structure of the lacquer and the use of different pigments.