In the 18th century this artistic technique was known as Japanning from its presumed origins
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Decoupage is the technique of decorating the suface of objects with cutouts... [DOC] [TLE] Decoupage | Eryka91's Blog [PAR] The traditional technique used 30-40 layers of varnish, which were then sanded 
to ... in 18th century England as The Art of Japanning after its presumed origins.