Vernis Martin
The use of lacquer with painted decoration was known in China as early as 1000 B.C. and in Japan from at least the sixth century A.D. In the 16th and 17th centuries this Chinoiserie decoration became very popular throughout Europe and many cabinetmakers and decorators tried to imitate its deep and lusterous alure, mostly without success.
Four French brothers working circa 1730 in Paris finally developed a successful alternative when they perfected a varnish that could compete with Chinese and Japanese lacquers. The Martin brother stuck sheets of paper to furniture and smaller decorative objects, fired the result to harden them and then lightly painted them in oil and varnished with a colorless resin before finally being glazed with gum arabic. They also produced far more delicate objects, such as lady’s fans, with this varnished decoration. The family was so skilled at this decorative work that the eldest brother was styled “Vernisseur du roi.”
Although widely copied themselves, no one has ever solved the puzzle of the Martin’s colorless varnish. Even today many of their original pieces retain the brightness and color they had when first completed while the work of their competitors has often darkened and cracked with age. As a result, the name “Vernis Martin” (Martin’s varnish) is often applied to lacquers and varnishes that imitate those of the orient. These substitutes are also occasionally called “vernis parisien” or “vernis de Paris”.