Red-Headed Woodpecker on Tree

AP Limited Editions presents a charming Maki-e Lacquer Art expression of a Red Headed Woodpecker on a Birch tree. The birch trunk is raised in relief and finished with gold powder and hirame, then sealed in warm brown urumi-urushi, giving the bark a worked, weathered depth. Leaves are built up and dusted with gold in a soft gradation before being coated in green urushi. Behind the trunk, shell inlay is placed and covered in black urushi, then finished in shishiai togidashi to reveal the design through polishing. After the entire surface is refined, the red-headed woodpecker is rendered in takamaki-e using rankaku, aogai, and colored urushi. The Woodpecker rests beside a completed hollow—the labor already finished, the opening cleanly claimed. It has carved this space with purpose: a protected cavity for nesting, roosting and shelter.