Maki-e
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A style of Japanese lacquerware made with gold or silver sprinkled on wet lacquer.
"Although indigenous to Japan as a technique, early maki-e retained a T'ang Chinese influence in design. Maki-e is achieved by spreading and scattering gold or silver dust, flakes, nuggets, and leaf on a drawing done in sticky lacquer, which is applied over the hardened lacquer foundation."
- 2 An object decorated with this style of lacquer.
Example
More examples"Although indigenous to Japan as a technique, early maki-e retained a T'ang Chinese influence in design. Maki-e is achieved by spreading and scattering gold or silver dust, flakes, nuggets, and leaf on a drawing done in sticky lacquer, which is applied over the hardened lacquer foundation."
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 蒔絵 (maki e, literally “sown picture; scatter picture”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.