TITLE:
Study on Characteristics of Gold Powder with Round Shape for Maki-e
AUTHORS:
Chieko Narita, Yutaro Shimode, Kazushi Yamada
KEYWORDS:
Urushi, Natural Lacquer, Maki-e, Gold Powder with Round Shape, Traditional Crafts
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.6 No.10,
September
30,
2015
ABSTRACT: Maki-e is a traditional Japanese decorative technique that uses the natural lacquer Urushi and
metal powders. Currently, there exist only two companies that manufacture metal powder for the
purpose of Maki-e, and this research focuses on comparing the material characteristics of the gold
powders with round shape manufactured by them. EDS (energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy)
analysis, image analysis of particle shape before and after Maki-e processing, and color analysis of
samples after Maki-e processing were carried out in this research. The study revealed that current
gold powders with round shape had almost the same content ratio regardless of the manufacturing
company and the powder diameter. In addition, spherical shape and irregular shape were observed
in any gold powders, and the aggregates were observed in powder with increasing the
powder diameter, while the shape of the aggregates differed with manufacturing companies. Therefore,
it was indicated that the aggregates in the powder made by Asano Co., Ltd. had an influence
on the particle diameter and its deviation after Maki-e processing. Moreover, the powder in Urushi
resin has an influence on the Maki-e appearance because there is a color difference in polished
powder, powder in Urushi resin, and Urushi resin.