Pronounced: "LOCK ah POE ver ah"
Lacca povera is a decorative finishing technique, often used on furniture in the 18th c., that is essentially an Italian interpretation and perfection of French decoupage.
Shown below: An 18th c. Italian Lacca Povera Armoire
List price: $249,350 USD
Lacca povera is known by many other names such as arte povera, lacca contrafatta and, in England, "decalcomania". But regardless of its name the technique was the same: it was the art of decorating a furniture surface (or it could be a vase, a screen or even a carriage interior) with paper prints that were cut out and adhered (with fish glue) to a prepared and painted surface and then varnished 8-10 times over. The many layers of applied varnish made it difficult to distinguish between a lacquered surface and a lacca povera technique.
Lacca povera was probably first practiced toward the end of the 17th century and became especially popular during the 1720's in Italy and other European countries, where it was used continuously throughout the 18th century. It reached its zenith and was especially popular in Venice during the Rococo period with its fondness for Chinoiserie and its expertise in whimsically interpreting the mysterious "Orient."
Shown below: An extraordinary 18th c. Venetian Lacca Povera mirror (note the pagoda shaped design and the Chinese lacca povera figures reflecting the Orientalia craze of the period):
List price: $96,450 USD
With the mania that was Chinoiserie, lacca povera was intended to imitate the look of the more expensive lacquered Coromandel (Chinese screens exported through the Indian port of Coromandel) techniques. But today and somewhat ironically, lacca povera antiques are now comparable in value if not more valuable than many Chinoiserie pieces). But because it was originally done to create less costly pieces than Chinese lacquered, it was called "the poor (povera) man's lacquer (lacca)".