Use of THM-PY-GC/MS technique to characterize complex, multilayered Chinese lacquer

•“Tixi” lacquer with typical multilayer structure was comprehensive investigation.•Exploration process of using micro-destructive means to excavate info was presented.•Chemical composition of this ancient organic protection coating was discussed detail.•Mol. fragments information of coating thermal decomposition was obtained by Py-GC/MS.•150 pyrolysis products with Retention Index were summarized make comparison possible.