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Golden Wood Carving

12/22/2011 //
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W120xH650mm, China

Gold and lacquered wood carving is a craft specialized in the Chao Zhou area; lacquer are applied on the wood carving before gold leaf is gilded on.  The carving are used to decorate items from furniture to architecture.  One of the theme for the wood carving are popular legends and scenes from opera.  This particular wood carving tells the story of Hua Mu Lan (made even more popular by Disney in the movie Mulan).  In the Northern dynasty, there were a lot nomad attacks in the north, one male from each family are required to be drafted to war.  The girl Mulan’s family has an elderly father and a very young brother, Mulan decided to take upon the duty, disguised herself as a male and went to join the army.  After a 12 years battle, the war was won and Mulan triumphantly returned, only then did her army mates realized she was in fact a female.

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Categories figurine, lacquer, wood

Lacquered Dish

12/20/2011 //
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DIA200(up to 400)xH70mm, China

This is a lacquered dish for offering fruits (fresh and dried) for ceremony.  The dish is made in segments and hold together by a piece of wire, with the curvatures on all directions, this is a difficult task to do.  This particular dish is decorated with a gold painted floral painting, some of the dishes are decorated with figures of well known stories.  Unfortunately, these stories are often emperor based, these are forbidden during the cultural revolution, in order to save the lacquered ware, the head of these painted figures would be scrapped out hence the content of the stories removed.

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Categories container, lacquer, wood

Lacquered Duck

11/10/2011 //
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W130xL250xH200mm, China

This duck container is made with special technique known as Bodiless Lacquering.  Bodiless Lacquering is similar to the technique of paper mache; first a clay model is build, layers of ramie cloth are placed on the model with lacquer as the adhesive.  Once dried, the positive mould is released, the shell is then smoothed with putty and polished.  This technique was developed in the Qing Dynasty in the Fuzhou province creating lacquer ware that are light and durable.

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Categories container, lacquer

Lacquer Pail

09/20/2011 //
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W220xH360mm, China

This is a rice container for the southern part of China. In a traditional Chinese family very often the clan would be living within one house / estate, all meals would be eaten together, rice would be cooked in a wok  in a kitchen far away, the cooked rice would be transported and served in a lacquered pail.  This pail is has a gold painted decoration over the lacquered.

Side tracking; the Chinese would insult a stupid person as a “rice barrel”,  someone who is “a gold painted lacquered rice barrel” would transfer to someone who is well package but in fact an idiot (the precise word has escape me, please help to suggest the word).  This is very nice item, I hope the story wont stop you from taking it home.  :)

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Categories container, lacquer, wood

Golden Wood Carving

09/04/2011 //
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W100xH100xD25mm, China

This is a piece of wood carving covered with gold leaf, traditionally used in interior ornaments such as decoration for bed post or family alter table.  Though it can be found throughout China, it is mainly in the Southern Region where carving are more refined.  The golden wood carving makes use of the depth of the material, creating layers and a sense of perspective as a show of craftsmanship.

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Categories lacquer, wood
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