Swans and Sakura

AP Limited Editions presents a fabulous, limited-edition Maki-e Lacquer Art composition shaped by transience.

Swans glide across calm water beneath blooming Sakura. The background is composed of layered gradations of gold powders with differing textures, creating a depth that shifts gently with light. Sakura blossoms are rendered in mother-of-pearl from great green turban shell and balanced with gin-yuji, gold powder, and pink urushi. Mountains and embankments are crafted in shishiai togidashi maki-e and refined with kirikane. Tree trunks are built with gin-yuji, layered with gold powder and urushi, then finished with kirikane. The swans are expressed in rankaku, with their presence echoing softly on the water through mother-of-pearl. The water surface is articulated through delicate gradation using thinly cut and finely crushed shell, while grasses and flowers are completed with gin-yuji beneath colored lacquer. Several techniques of Maki-e Lacquer Art are employed to craft this exquisite edition.