lacquer has independent origins from Asian lacquer. In the pre-Hispanic period, a substance from the larvae of aje scale insects and/or oil from the chia seed were mixed with powdered minerals to create protective coatings and decorative designs. During this period, the process was almost always applied to dried gourds, especially to make the cups that Mesoamerican nobility drank chocolate from. After the Conquest, the Spanish had indigenous craftsmen apply the technique to European style furniture and other items, changing the decorative motifs and color schemes, but the process and materials remained mostly the same. Asian lacquerware and artisans brought by the Nao de China also had an influence on the style and motifs of colonial Mexican lacquerware. Today, workshops creating lacquerware are limited to Olinalá, Temalacatzingo and Acapetlahuaya in the state of Guerrero, Uruapan and Pátzcuaro in Michoacán and Chiapa de Corzo in Chiapas. The most popular modern lacquerware are small boxes, sometimes known as cajitas de Olinalá. See also Chinese lacquerware table Japanning Lacquer painting References Further reading External links "Lacquerware Stories" at the Kyoto National Museum. Museum of Lacquer Art Münster Museum für Lackkunst in Germany The Craft and Care of East Asian Lacquer by Denver Art Museum Bone, Flesh, Skin: the making of Japanese Lacquer YouTube video by Getty Museum Intro to Urushi YouTube video by Dr.Kenji Toki at FabLabKamakura Lacquerware of East Asia essay at the MET Museum Japanese inventions