ABSTRACT
Thitsi, the Material used in Lacquer Ware. […] e material used in the production of the shiny surface of lacquered wares is procured from more than one plant. e Japanese obtain their material from the sumach (Rhus vernicifera), and the Burmans theirs from the thitsi tree (melanorrhoea usitata). In both cases the material is obtained by making incisions in the bark of the tree, whence there issues a greyish sticky liquid which hardens on exposure to a jet black solid. e composition of the Japanese and Burmese materials is similar consisting, in the case of thitsi, of about 85 per cent. of urushic acid, the balance being diastatic matter, oils and gums. Urushic acid, by the way, derives its name from “urushi,” the Japanese word for lacquer. Hardening takes place by the action of the diastatic matter on the urushic acid, and unlike varnishes lacquer ware needs moisture when drying and sets better in the dark; in fact it will not set properly in direct sunlight, while a temperature above 120 degrees Fahr. is bad for it.
