with gilding, coloring and mother-of-pearl inlaying

flourished strongly in Thailand. The results can be seen

today in richly decorative designs on temple doors and

windows, in thrones and other objects once used by

royalty and now in museums, and in old household

articles such as cupboards, bookcases, bowls used for

eating and for betel-chewing, bowl-and-pedestal sets for

holding water or religious offerings, decorative boxes and

so on.

Today there are no lacquerware craftsmen left

whose skill can match that of earlier times. Lacquerware

is only made in one village just outside the city ofChiang

Mai, and only about ten households still carry on this

craft.

The village is called Ban Kern, or "Lacquer Village."

The Thai for lacquerware is 'kreuang kem', and it's

believed that this name came originally from the Thai

Kern hilltribe in Chiang Tung in the northernmost part

of Thailand, some Thai Kern tribesmen are thought to

have moved southward to Chiang Mai and founded Ban

Kern Village where they started the lacquer ware craft.

Nevertheless, those ten or so households are turning

out some very attractive articles today — mainly bowls,

bowl-and-pedestal sets, boxes and the like, more decora-

tive than utilitarian perhaps, but very popular among

foreign tourists as souvenirs, and among Thais too,

because they make charming gifts for weddings and

birthdays.

The new generation of men and women who have

replaced the old lacquer craftsmen are mainly younger

eight to five with an hour off for lunch, and earn a

reasonable daily wage. Being near Chiang Mai, they

have some of the benefits of modern civilization, such as

television (which they watch during their lunch hour)

and radio, on which they listen to Thai folk music while

working, since the craft makes no noise at all (unlike

many of the others described in this book). There's only

the faint, characteristic smell of the lacquer.

All those now working in the trade first had to take a

three-month training course organized by the Ministry

of Industry. In fact the atmosphere in Ban Kern is almost

like that of a factory-cum-exhibition, with every stage of

the process displayed for visitors to see. And the workers'

earnings compare very favorably with those in the past;

one older craftswoman says she used to earn only seven

baht a day when working in her own home.

In making lacquer ware, the bowl, box or other

article is first woven out of bamboo. (Occasionally wood

is used). The basic coating material is then applied with a

brush. This is called 'samook' and consists of the ashes of

burnt rice-paddy husks or finely-ground clay mixed with

'rak'or black lacquer obtained from the "black varnish"

tree. The ashes give the mixture a grayish color. When

this coating is dry it is polished with soapstone, and

another coat of 'samook' is applied, left to dry and polish-

ed again. The process is repeated up to fifteen times to

build up a rigid and durable base of lacquer, with the

ashes or clay as a binding agent. A final polishing is given

at this stage, using a special leaf called 'bai-nod' similar to

sandpaper, and a lathe if the object is a round one such as

a bowl or pedestal.

The first coat of pure black lacquer, not mixed with

ashes or clay, is now applied. This is left to dry, which

may take as long as two weeks. Again, further coats of

pure lacquer are applied and left to dry; making lacquer-

ware certainly is not a high-speed process. The final black

shiny surface is polished with a soft cloth until it glistens.

Lastly the attractive designs are applied, and for this

there are two separate processes, depending on whether

the inlaid design is to be in colors or gold. For color, the

process is called 'lai kud', literally, "a design which is dug

out", and as the name suggests the design is engraved

with a sharp-pointed tool. (Some fifteen years ago, one

could see an elderly craftsman in Ban Kern using his

thumbnail both as an engraving tool in the semi-soft

lacquer rim of a bowl, and as a measure to space the

intervals between the thumbnail dents; so practiced was

he, that the design always finished full-circle with exactly

the right spacing between the last and first indentation,

on bowl after bowl. In those days, you could buy a small

Bangkok). After the design has been engraved, the lac-

quered object is washed in a solution called 'nam look sak'

made from chopped fruit, then rinsed with water and

dried. It is then soaked for three days in colored paint

made from chopped fruit, then rinsed with water and

special vegetable oil. The sandpapery 'bai-nod' leaf is

again used to polish the surface. The color remains in the

engraved design, while elsewhere the surface stays a

smooth, shiny black.

For gilding, the process is called 'lai rot nam', or "a

design made by liquid". The design is painted on the sur-

face in reverse, using a white or yellowish solution of

certain tree saps in a kind of vinegar. The object is now

coated all over, first with fresh lacquer and then with

gold leaf. These stick firmly on the black parts of the

surface where the solution has not been applied. The

object is then rinsed in water for several minutes to

remove the solution and the unwanted gold leaf, leaving

the required design firmly attached in gold.

This craft demands much patience and care — as

well as the skill of hand and eye, and the innate sense of

decoration and design, which make it typically Thai. It is

not only Thais and visiting tourists who buy Ban Kern's

beautiful lacquer ware. Much of it is exported — to the