The knot made from leather and lacquer.

Published 21 October 2026 · WHV · Public-source editorial note

The red loop in Nan Wei’s Knot-Loving invites a mistaken first impression. It might be glazed ceramic or a smoothly carved solid. The listed materials tell a less expected story: cow leather, linen and lacquer. Something associated with flexibility has become a compact, self-supporting sculptural presence, with light moving across its folded surface.

Lacquer as more than a surface

Nan Wei works with lacquer and the possibilities of shaped leather. The piece was selected as a finalist for the 2026 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize. That context matters because the work is being considered through making, not simply through a striking photograph. Lacquer is doing more than supplying a glossy red finish to an otherwise complete object.

Its WHV case is the transformation of knowledge into an unfamiliar result. A traditional material practice need not repeat a historical form to remain alive. Here, the knot directs attention to tension, volume and the apparent softness of something that holds its shape. Recognition by a prize makes the work easier to locate and research, but it does not establish a resale market or tell us what a particular buyer should pay.

Ask how the object lives

Start with the foundation’s finalist announcement to identify the work and its maker. Before considering ownership, establish a current contact and ask about availability, documentation, handling, display conditions and care appropriate to the materials. Look beyond the immediate colour and silhouette to the process that makes them possible. The lasting discovery is that leather and lacquer can belong to a sculptural language you may not previously have associated with either.

Source and context.

LOEWE Japan: Nan Wei and the 2026 Craft Prize finalists ↗

LOEWE FOUNDATION: the 2026 Craft Prize archive and outcome ↗

Knot-Loving is identified as a 2026 prize finalist, not the winner. The sources differ on the work’s creation year, so no creation date or current availability is asserted here.

Source checked 21 October 2026. WHV interpretation is distinct from the source’s account.