Raden

For the title of Javanese nobility, see Priyayi § Raden.

Shibayama-style writing box, Nagasaki, 1800–1850, wood covered with black lacquer and inlaid with flowers in under-painted mother-of-pearl shell.
Inlaid maki-e raden paper box with "wheels in flow" (katawaguruma) design, National Treasure, Heian period, 11–12th century, Tokyo National Museum
Inlaid maki-e raden writing box with "Eight Bridges" (Yatsuhashi) design, by Ogata Kōrin, National Treasure, Edo period, 18th century. The flowers are abalone shell inlays, Tokyo National Museum
Inrō, Design of minute patterns in mother-of-pearl inlay, Somada school characterized by a combination of raden and makie techniques, Edo period, 19th century, Tokyo National Museum

Raden (螺鈿) is a Japanese term[1] for one of the decorative techniques used in traditional crafts and woodwork. It refers to a method of inserting nacre into a carved surface of lacquer or wood.[1] The kanji for ra (螺) means 'shell' and den (鈿) means 'inlaid'. Raden is a term used only for the technique or work of inlaying thin layers of pearl shells. In Japan, the technique of embedding the mother of pearl of shellfish in lacquer is called raden, while the technique of embedding metal or ivory is called zōgan (象嵌).

The term may also be used for similar traditional work from Korea called najeonchilgi (螺鈿漆器[2]), from China called luodian (Chinese: 螺钿),[3] or in countries in South-East Asia such as Vietnam, and for modern work done in the West.

  1. ^ a b Raden. Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. ^ "Lacquered Comb Box Inlaid with Mother-of-pearl". National Museum of Korea. Archived from the original on 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  3. ^ 故宫博物院词条：螺钿