Lacquered wooden tray inlaid with mother of pearl bat design

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Produced after an arduous, time-consuming creating process made only by hand, this octagonal lacquered wooden tray inlaid with mother of pearl bat design exhibits the amazing craftsmanship and artistry of Korean mother of pearl crafts.

The houseware coated with natural lacquer has long been used in East Asia for its glossy beauty as well as its practicality for being strong, watertight and antibacterial.

Lacquer Scraping -- How to create a lacquered wooden tray inlaid with mother of pearl bat design

This is the final process. After final drying, the artist delicately scrapes out lacquer coated on mother of pearl design to let it emit the iridescent color.

Final Drying -- How to create a lacquered wooden tray inlaid with mother of pearl bat design

Seventh drying is the final drying. The artist dries the tray on the wooden drying rack in the shade for a day. It needs a special facility for best drying. The drying house has to be a half-sealed room with no dust at all for drying evenly over the entire surface.

Sixth Lacquering and Drying -- How to create a lacquered wooden tray inlaid with mother of pearl bat design

After inlaying mother of pearl, the artist applies fifth coat of natural lacquer to the surface and dries it. Then the artist sands the surface again with sandpaper soaked in water. The artist repeats this process; the sixth lacquering and drying.