moriage 盛上げ

Keywords
Art History
Painting

An abbreviation of moriage zaishiki 盛上彩色. Pigment or shell-white *gofun 胡粉 mixed with glue *nikawa 膠 applied to a painting surface in a relief-like manner. A traditional technique in Japanese painting often used in conjunction with brightly colored pigments *gokusaishiki 極彩色. This technique can be seen in the built-up application of verdigris *rokushō 緑青 on the pine needles depicted on the 1053 door-paintings of Byōdōin *Hōōdō 平等院凰鳳堂 in Kyoto. In Buddhist painting from the 14th century onward, shell-white or powdered gold were thickly applied under brilliant colors to the patterns of both paintings and sculpted images. However, the technique is mainly associated with sliding-door and screen paintings on gold foil *kinpeki shōhekiga 金碧障壁画 produced from the 16th to the 18th century. For example, in depicting flowers such as chrysanthemums in particular, shell-white was applied thickly to each petal thus slightly raising the motif from the painting surface and thereby suggesting volume. In modern paintings, new materials such as powdered colored glass and metal powders are used to achieve this same relief-like effect.