A rare dry lacquer head of a bodhisattva, Tang dynasty | 唐 夾紵乾漆菩薩頭像

The dry lacquer process involved first sculpting the figure in clay over a stick-like wooden model. Patches of lacquered hemp were then pasted onto the clay. These were then covered with further lacquer layers, which could be sculpted in greater detail and carved to give expressive qualities. Finally, the surface was painted in polychrome pigments. Once completed, the original construction of wood and clay was hollowed out and removed, leaving only the fragile skin of hemp and lacquer. The number of extant Tang dynasty religious images made in this complex and sophisticated technique is relatively low, largely due to the time-consuming and demanding production process as well the vulnerability of the material.

Compare a closely related Tang dynasty dry lacquer head of a bodhisattva of this size from the collection of Mrs Howard C. Hollis, exhibited in The Arts of T'ang Dynasty, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, 1957, cat. no. 60.

乾漆夾紵起始以木柱為蕊，泥塑作模，貼蘸漆麻布以為胎。復施重漆，巧工精雕，敷彩添色，最後割開背面取出木蕊泥坯，只餘薄麻 漆層，脫胎成像。此法工法繁複，製作艱鉅，大費周章，加上乾漆纖巧，易於損壞，故此現存唐代佛教夾紵乾漆造像極為鮮見。

Howard C. Hollis 夫人珍藏有一唐代夾紵乾漆菩薩頭像近例，尺寸也與此相若，展於《The Arts of T'ang Dynasty》，洛杉磯郡立藝 術館，洛杉磯，1957年，編號60。