Vietnamese lacquer painting, known as sơn mài, is one of Vietnam’s most distinctive and refined art forms. Among its most prestigious expressions are Vietnamese lacquer panels, which showcase intricate craftsmanship, cultural narratives, and a fusion of tradition with modern aesthetics.

East Asian paintings are distinguished not only by their visual content but also by their meticulously designed physical formats. These structures—whether rolled, hung, or folded—serve as embodiments of cultural philosophy, ritual practice, and aesthetic principles. This guide provides a systematic examination of painting formats from China, Japan, and Korea, offering foundational knowledge for identifying their unique characteristics and understanding their historical and sociocultural significance.

Kintsugi (Japanese: 金継ぎ, lit. 'golden joinery'), also known as kintsukuroi (金繕い, "golden repair"), is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with urushi lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.

The Snake, one of the twelve animals in the Lunar Zodiac, holds a profound place in East Asian art and culture. As a zodiac animal, the Snake symbolizes wisdom, introspection, mystery, and transformation. Its graceful and sinuous form has made it a popular subject in paintings, where it is often depicted with elegance, subtlety, and spiritual depth.

The Lunar Zodiac, often referred to as the East Asian Zodiac, is a system of twelve animals that correspond to the lunar calendar. Deeply rooted in Chinese culture, this tradition has been widely adopted and adapted by other East Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Mongolia, each adding their own cultural nuances while maintaining the shared foundation.