Archives for category: figurine

deer

L130xD40xH150mm, China

During rutting period, the stag will roar to both attract the females and to keep his harem of females together.

In Shi Jing (The Classic Book of Poetry), the cries of the deer is expressed as relaxed and natural atmosphere.

呦呦鹿鸣,食野之苹。
我有嘉宾,鼓瑟吹笙。
吹笙鼓簧,承筐是将。
人之好我,示我周行。

呦呦鹿鸣,食野之蒿。
我有嘉宾,德音孔昭。
视民不恌,君子是则是效。
我有旨酒,嘉宾式燕以敖。

呦呦鹿鸣,食野之芩。
我有嘉宾,鼓瑟鼓琴。
鼓瑟鼓琴,和乐且湛。
我有旨酒,以燕乐嘉宾之心。

With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the celery of the fields.
I have here admirable guests;
The lutes are struck, and the organ is blown;
The organ is blown till its tongues are all moving.
The baskets of offerings are presented to them.
The men lovews me,
ANd will show me the perfect path.

With pleased sound the deer call to one another,
Eating the southernwood of the fields.
I have here admirable guests;
Whose virtuous fame is grandly brilliant.
They show the people not to be mean;
The officers have in them a pattern and model.
I have good wine,
Which my admirable guests drink, enjoying themselves.

With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the salsola of the fields.
I have here admirable guests;
For whom are struck the lutes, large and small.
THe lutes, large and small, are struck,
And our harmonious joy is long continued.
I have good wine,
To feast and make glad the hearts of my admirable guest.

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W160xD120xH360mm, Thailand

Today is the Buddha’s birthday, Vesak.  A holy day for the Buddhist, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha  (Siddhartha Gautama).  Because of the lunar calendar and varies customs, the date of celebration varies in different countries.  For the Chinese Buddhist, the celebration falls on the 8th day of lunar April.  You might still be able to catch the celebration in other parts of the world.

More than 2500 year ago, the Buddha was born.  His wisdom guides the Buddhists away from the hinders of this world.

toy tigerW80xL140xH100mm, Japan

Today is Tango no Sekku, Boy’s day, in Japan.  Along with the Koinobori (carp banner), figurines will be placed inside of the house.  It is believed that these figurines will protect the child; offering bravery and well being.

This is a lucky tiger –  Fuku Tora, made with cloth.

Comparing to the Chinese cloth tiger, it looks more innocent.

golden wood carving

L230xD30xH90mm, China

This golden wood carving makes a perfect birthday present.

The four figurines are full of blessing, Fu Lu Shou and Ma Gu.  They are all Taoist saints, representing blessings and happiness.

Fu (far right) – the planet Jupiter which was also attributed to Yang Cheng of the West Han period.  Yang, after being nominated to be the Daozhou official, abolished the practice of present contribution to the Emperor, relieving the stain for the people and therefore seen as a blessing.

Lu (left of Fu) – god of prosperity.  The stars Ursa Majoris humanized as Zhang Xian of the Shu dynasty, a brave general who was respected by the Emperor and worshiped by the people.

Shou (left of Lu) – god of longevity.  The stars of Canopus, translated as Peng Zu who is believed to have livd to an age of 767!!

Lady (at the far left) is Ma Gu, goddess of longevity – with the appearance still being in her teens, she has witnessed 3 times the sea turned into fields (judging its not from any dramatic climatic changes, she has been around for a long long time).  Her immortality and her yearly birthday tribute to the Queen Mother of the West is seen as a blessing and so Ma Gu is a popular subject for pritns, figurines, embroidery and alike.

christW100xD65xH320mm, Philippines

During the Holy Week in the Philippines, starting from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, a number of religious observations were held.

On Good Friday (Biyernes Santo), the day starts with the Way of the Cross procession where Jesus’ Seven Last Words are portrayed.  In some area, this was acted out literally, those who had their wishes granted even went as far as having themselves nailed on a cross.  This is followed by the procession of the Sano Eniterro, where a wooden sculpture of the dead Christ is parade.  Scenes from the life Jesus were also depicted in figurines and shown in carriages around town.

In this figurine, Jesus is lifting up his garment and revealing his left leg, would anyone know which part of the scripture does this fit into?

roof lion roof lionL230xW80xH230mm, China

This little monster is the son of the dragon, his name is Suan Ni.  He loves smokes and incense and normally found on the incense burner, as he also loves sitting around Suan Ni is one of the monsters that resides on the roof.  Unlike his brother Chi Wen who loves looking a far and occupies the two ends of the main ridge, Suan Ni sits with the other 4 monsters on the hip of the roof.

The Phoenix Riding Saint – the brother in law of Jiang Zi Ya, who is always nagging Jiang for a promotion in his sainthood.  Jiang, in charge of the appointment of saints put him at the end of the ridge, meaning that anything higher will cause him to fall off the roof.


Followed by the 5 roof hip monsters;

Pheonix – a mythical creature, the queen of all birds.
Suan Ni – the on of dragon who sit around and loves smokes and incense.
Xia Yu – a sea monster, together with Suan Ni, they can control the weather and protect the building.
Xie Zhi – part eagle part leopard, eating all the bad guys, a symbol of justice.
Dou Niu – a type of dragon, able to control the rain.

clay toyW150xD40xH200mm, China

Characters from the Beijing Opera (which is a collection of legendary stories in itself) are made into toys.  I suppose the its no difference now with Buzz Lightyear and the Woody action character, an hero friend you can keep in the pocket.

This is Guan Yu, the hot blooded general of Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms era (200BC), the character is made popular by the historic novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” (published 1350) where he is described as 9 feet tall with a 2 feet long beard, a date colour face and red lips, eyes of a phoenix, silkworm like eyebrow and above all loyal and dignify.

Not only is he a favorite character for the kids,  he can also liked by the adults, taking on the role as the God of Wealth.  In praise for his loyalty, in Hong Kong Guan Yu is also worshiped by the police and Triads alike.

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W120xD100xH480, Burma

This is a figurine of the Buddha with an alms bowl standing on a lotus flower.

In Theravada Buddhism, “pindacara” a daily alms collection of food “pindapata” is practiced by the monks (and nuns).  The word for monk “bhikkhu” means one who lives on alms, while “pindapata” means dropping a lump.  The monks would leave their monastery, in a group they walk barefooted in single file according to seniority, their robe formally arranged covering both shoulders.  The route will go through the village house by house, accepting but never requesting food that is dropped into the bowls.  This figurine, the Buddha, is leading figurine of a group which consists of monks of different heights which unfortunately is not with us.

Monks in Burma

the second film has a more in depth view of a monk’ life.

figurineL160xD100xH120mm, China

This figurine is by the famous pottery area Shi Wan; their figurines are typical to have a glazeless delicate facial and hand depiction while contrasting with an expressive and bold glazing on the clothing.

The drunken poet, Li Bai, is a popular subject for figurine, paintings, etc., apart from his literary stature, his love for drinking also give a character for the artisan to express.

月下獨酌

花間一壺酒
獨酌無相親
舉杯邀明月
對影成三人
月既不解飲
影徒隨我身
暫伴月將影
行樂須及春
我歌月徘徊
我舞影零亂
醒時同交歡
醉後各分散
永結無情游
相期邈雲漢

The poem “Drinking Alone under the Moon” by Li Bai, translation by W. Bynner

From a pot of wine among the flowers
I drank alone. There was no one with me—
Till, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon
To bring me my shadow and make us three.
Alas, the moon was unable to drink
And my shadow tagged me vacantly;
But still for a while I had these friends.

To cheer me through the end of spring . . .
I sang. The moon encouraged me.
I danced. My shadow tumbled after.
As long as I knew, we were boon companions.
And then I was drunk, and we lost one another.
. . . Shall goodwill ever be secure?
I watch the long road of the River of Stars.