Craftsmanship
Rankaku: natural lacquer and eggshell
Since 1995, our pieces have been made by hand using authentic techniques: traditional natural plant lacquer, and rankaku, the art of inlaying eggshell into that lacquer.
An Art Deco technique
The designers of the Art Deco era, led by Jean Dunand, made eggshell lacquer one of their signatures. Later forgotten, the technique was rediscovered in 1994 by Jérôme Mauvernay and the designer Christian Duc, who founded Les Comptoirs d'Annam the following year to apply it to contemporary furniture and objects.
The steps
- The shellWashed, and fired to obtain certain colors, the shell is crushed and sieved into fragments of chosen sizes.
- LayingThe artisan applies a first coat of fresh lacquer and lays the fragments on it one by one, edge to edge, like a mosaic.
- SandingThe surface is sanded perfectly smooth, then the fragments are sealed in a lighter lacquer.
- The coatsAbout four coats of lacquer and pigment follow one another, each wet-sanded before the next. Little by little, the color of the shells rises to the surface and reveals its pattern.
- The finishA last, very fluid coat of lacquer is sanded and then polished. No varnish covers it.
No varnish
Without varnish, the surface keeps its natural depth and can be repaired by simple sanding. Like any noble material, it only asks for a little care.
A unique, numbered piece
Every object is shaped by hand by artisans who are heirs to centuries-old traditions. Even when true to its reference model, each piece carries the tiny variations that only the hand can create: whoever acquires one owns a unique, numbered creation. Our designs, colors and patterns are registered with INPI, the French intellectual property office.