THE PERFECT FINISH
Now showing until 2 June 2013
Free admission
The perfect finish: Three hundred years of lacquer art
presents exquisite Asian lacquer ware from the Art Gallery and private Australian
collections and includes works of art from Japan, China, Thailand and Burma.
The difficult time-consuming technique of the lacquer making, using the sap of trees, has
challenged Asian artists through the centuries to create luxurious objects of extraordinary beauty
and refinement.
The perfect finish features treasures ranging from extravagant Japanese mother-of-pearl
inlaid furniture to gold-decorated vessels made for Buddhist rituals in Southeast Asia.
The perfect finish
is presented in conjunction with the Oz Asia 2012 Festival.
detail: Japan, Shibayama cabinet, c.1880, Japan, inlaid wood, lacquer, ivory, mothe‑of‑pearl, gilt bronze, 208.0 x 140.0 x 60.0 cm; Gift of the beneficiaries of Agnes M.C. Rasp 1936.
