Bvlgari Lvcea Notte di Luce

Urushi – Ancestral Japanese art of lacquer – traces its origins back to prehistoric times. Drawn from tree sap, this dense, tinted, and polished lacquer was first used to create a protective sheath around objects. Over the centuries it became a symbol of refinement, enriched with delicate embellishmen- ts such as Raden, literally “sprinkled picture.” Developed some 1,300 years ago, this ancestral art consists of embedding minute fragments of mother-of-pearl or gold to form intricate motifs. Against the lacquer’s profound black, each fragment comes alive in a shimmering play of light. Renowned for his mastery of Urushi and Raden, Yasuhiro Asai has long made light the central theme of his artmanship, drawing inspiration from the sun, the rainbow, and even the electric iridescence of mother-of-pearl. Combining cutting-edge techniques with ancestral gestures, he composes contemporary works in the serene surroundings of his traditional Kyoto atelier.