W130xL200xH130mm, Hong Kong
A pottery elephant is made with one single sheet of clay and decorated with under glaze.
Elephant
0
L180xW80xH180mm, China
Welcome to the Year of the Horse!
The Chinese Zodiac works in a 12 years cycle, each represented by a different animal. These 12 animals goes in the order
Rat -> Ox -> Tiger ->
Rabbit ->Dragon -> Snake ->
Horse -> Goat -> Monkey ->
Rooster -> Dog -> Pig
and then back to the Rat again.
On Chinese New Year (31st Jan 2014) begins the Year of the Horse.
It is quite easy to work out one’s zodiac animal, snake is 2013, goat is 2015 and back to the horse again in 2026. So it is also easy for someone to work out your age too, for the ladies who don’t want to tell everyone your age, when you are prompt with the question what is your Chinese zodiac sign, you can always say that you are a Cat…
According to the legend, the Jade Emperor has a Flying Horse that he adores. The Flying Horse was full of himself, one day he went fooling around at the Dragon palace, he killed the Turtle Saint who came to stopped him. When the news traveled back to the Jade Emperor and the Flying Horse was punished with his wings cut off and press under the Kun Lun mountain. The poor Horse was all alone under the mountain until 200 years later when the human walked passed, the Horse swept and said, “please help me, kind human, in return I will work hard for you.” Out of pity, the human cut down the peach tree that was on top of the mountain and the Horse was released. A bond was developed between the two species, the Horse became a carriage for the human, paired up and went to war. When the selection for the zodiac animals came up, the human voted for the Horse.
For the Year of the Horse, we have a horsey toy made of cotton felt.
W300xH380mm, China
Today, the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, is the day to welcome God of Wealth. Traditionally, early in the day one will heard drums and gongs, fire crackers from the shops as well as a fest of food to invite the God of Wealth for visit, some might even go through the trouble of welcoming him early in the night so to make sure he will not be going anywhere else.
On this new year print there are 2 Gods of Wealth, one academic and one martial. The god of wealth is a title, it is not attributed to a single saint but a handful of saints. The Academic God of Wealth has the task of delivering wealth and commonly refers to Fan Li and Bi Gan, both a loyal and wealth character who helps out with country and the poor. The Martial God of Wealth is responsible for safe guarding the wealth, they are General Zhao Gong Ming and General Guan Yu, both legendary fighters.
See our other God of Wealth.
For the Chinese New Year, it is common for the parents to make tiger theme costume for their children. We have incorporated the tiger pattern with the biker’s head wrap which make it more fashionable for teenager and adults alike.
Tiger is admired for its strength and bravery, it is believe that not only will the tiger protect the children but they will also grow up to be as strong as the tiger.
See our our tiger items.
Original tiger hats are also available.
We will like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy Chinese New Year!
Kung Kei Fat Choy!
The shop will be closed during the festival and reopen again on 4th February (Tue) Chinese New Year day 5.
W55xD60xH60mm, China
Got your appetite ready for the Chinese New Year fest? Would this slow cook pork belly make your mouth watery?
Fear not for the cholesterol, this is in fact a piece of stone which naturally reassemble the most desirable cut the “5 layers belly” where five thin layers of muscles is sandwiched in between layers of fat.
The most famous pork belly dish in China would have to be the Dong Po Rou, invented by the Sung scholar Su Dong Po. He was arrived in Huang Zhou as the new governor only to find half of the West Lake was covered with a kind of wild grass, he ordered for the grass to be cleaned up and developed a waterway system that not only prevented flooding but also made use of the water for cultivation. For the revival of the beautiful West Lake, the residents brought also their precious pork and order them to him. Su Dong Po accepted all the offerings, but instead of keep them all for himself, he asked his chef to cook the meat with his special recipe and give a piece to every household. They have never tasted anything so delicious and here it is;
INGREDIENTS
- 1 piece of pork belly 120x120mm
- a couple of spring onion, cut half in length
- few slices of ginger
- strings
- 50g sugar
- 120g Chinese wine or dry sherry
- 70g light soya sauce
- water
METHOD
- tied the pork belly as if you are putting a ribbon on a present
- blanch it quickly in boiling water and take out
- in a casserole, put the spring onion and ginger slices at the bottom, then put in the pork skin side down
- follow by the sugar, soya sauce and wine, then top up with water, put the lid on.
- bring to boil then turn the heat down to the smallest and slow cook for 30 mins then turn the meat over so that the skin faces up and cook for another 30 min.
- cut the meat into four piece and serve with a hot bowl of rice.
- enjoy!
DIA130xH110, DIA120xH90, DIA130xH60mm, Hong Kong
This is my newly completed pottery project, continuing with the Something Old Something New theme and the Lotus Leaf Vessel project. I set out to make containers for these antique coconut lids which were featured on the blog a while back. They are beautifully carved with the word “longevity” and the 8 lucky treasures and on the back are sealed with a lead lid.
The containers are glazed with bronze oxide on the exterior to match with the golden longevity symbol on the lids. They will be perfect for offering sweets and other goodies over the Chinese New Year.
W400xH760mm, China
Once again, its the time of the year to thank the Kitchen God.
It is believed that at the beginning of every Chinese New Year, on lunar January 4th, the Jade Emperor will sent the Kitchen God to monitor the activities of each household (a bit like the NSA, I guess) and at the end of the year, lunar December 24th, the Kitchen God will depart to make his annual report back to the Jade Emperor. To thank his for a year’s hard work, before his departure a special meal will be prepared for him.
If you still havent prepare the farewell dinner, hurry up before he leaves!
See our other Kitchen God pints.
DIA45xL125mm, China
These two are the cutest toys, two babies with faces that can be turned.
The heads of the figurines are wood carvings while the colorful wraps are made with ceramics.
DIA80xH130mm, China
This green glazed capsule is actually part of the architectural feature, Bao Ding, a feature that completed the apex of a pitched roof that has four or more sides or circular. It is a detail for closing off the standard ridge tiling enabling a rain proof roofing, in some cases it is so the cover for the counter lighting device. As it is highest point of a building, like the spire of the tower, it is usually of a larger size. I suspected this bao ding was that for a smaller decorative architecture, perhaps one in the garden, that require a smaller size.
DIA270xH200mm, Hong Kong
A large handmade bowl with inlay of black colour slip.
Mountain Folkcraft 