Lacquer is used by bees to cover the parts of their hives that do not absorb resin, thereby expressing patterns. There are many lacquerware pieces at Horyuji Temple, but this technique came to an end by the modern era. The reason for this is the reliance on imported resin as a raw material and the cessation of trade following the abolition of the Dutch trading post.
臈纈は、蜜蜂が巣をつくるために分泌する蜜蠟を塗布し、染料液に漬けても染まらない箇所をもうけることによって文様を表現する。正倉院には多数の臈纈が見られるが、これを最後に、近代に至るまで臈纈技法は途絶えてしまう。原料となる蜜蠟を輸入に頼っており、遣唐使の廃止とともに交易が絶たれたことが理由として挙げられている。
View the original at Japan Search →Article 1 states the purpose plainly: prevent trade in stolen goods, find them quickly, and speed the recovery of victims. Article 2 then defines a used article to include, in the same breath, art objects held for appreciation. Dealing in them requires a licence.
The cool part. Article 16 requires a dealer to record every transaction: the date, the item and quantity, its distinguishing features, and the address, name, occupation and age of the other party. Article 15 requires that a dealer who suspects an item is stolen report it to a police officer immediately. So the antique trade runs on a register the police may read, and a painting becomes a second-hand article the moment it has been used once.
Verify at e-Gov 法令検索 →Use it A motif small enough to blind-deboss, which is where restraint actually shows.
Description source: museum curator text, translated — not generated