Peach Guo Mould

08/19/2013 //
2

cookie mouldW120xL230xD20mm, China

This is a wooden mould for making the famous red peach guo.  Guo is Chaozhou dumpling that is made for festivals as well as for everyday snacks.  The peach shaped guo reserved for festive days like the Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid Autumn Festival, Winter Solstice, they are also made for the new born baby by the grandma on its hundred days’ celebration.

The peach shape symbolizes longevity, it is again emphasized by the word “壽” in the middle of the mould.

Here is the master mould carver working on a turtle shape guo mould.

Tags , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories tools, wood

Congee Pot

08/16/2013 //
0

DIA190xH160mm, China

 This beautiful painted pot is a container for rice porridge (congee), a nourishing dish for the elderly.  Though this is an object that would only be found in wealthy families, it seems that elaborated  decoration and the specific usage might have another reason other than the utilitarian one.  The Chinese name for the congee pot is 粥罐 “zhou guan” which has the same pronunciation as 做官 “zuo guan” (being a court official, which is the desire of all commoners).  For this reason, these shape of pots 罐 are view more highly than that of vases and though has an everyday function are highly decorative.  Congee also is a easily digested meal which promotes longevity.  In this sense the congee pot is seen as an item of blessing and thus had a special place in a household.

Now if you are interested in making congee to go with the pot, here is how they make it in the best congee place in Hong Kong.

And this is how you can make it at home in 5 mins!

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories container, pottery

Lacquer Bamboo Basket

08/15/2013 //
0

bamboo lacquer basket OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

DIA260xH320mm, China

A lacquered bamboo weaved basket which forms part of the dowry of the young bride and an essential household object.  These form of baskets are used for storing food before the arrival of the refrigerator.  Precious food item like fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs, would be placed inside the basket and hung under the beam of the kitchen.  The basket provide good airing and being suspended will stopped vermin from reaching the food.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories bamboo, container, lacquer

Sujitate Kushi Comb

08/14/2013 //
0

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAW45xL180mm, Japan

In today’s world, we often own only one comb and likely to be plastic, but for traditional Japanese coiffure there are many different types of comb (kushi) each having a different function.  The sujitate comb is a special tool for straightening the side and the back hair used by the Kamiyui (geiko hairstylist).

And this is how the comb is actually used.

Tags , , , , ,
Categories tools, wood

Roly-Poly Monkey

08/13/2013 //
0

monkey

W150xD50xH110, China

A roly-poly monkey toy.

The story goes like this; in the Sung dyansty, there was an additional of a baby boy to a wealthy household.  Precious and spoiled, he cried every night till dawn.  Worried that something was wrong, the family consulted all the well known doctors in town but cries continued.  One day, the father came home with a clay toy shaped with a rounded bottom and a small top.  The child pushes, it wobbles and bounces back, it amuses the child and the crying stopped.  The father believed that it was a blessing from god and had the figure of Guan Yin painted onto it, hoping it will protect his family from toppling.  Unfortunately, one day the child broke the clay toy in half, a bad omen the father thought but the clay cannot be put together again.  Cleverly, he used the broken toy as a mold and created a paper mache version and it became a popular folk toy in China.

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories figurine, paper, toy

Lotus Leaf Vessel

08/12/2013 //
0

lotus leaf vessel

DIA320xH240mm, Hong Kong

Remember the antique lotus leaf lid that was featured in last winter’s blog?  I started a pottery project of making a vessel to match the lid, after several versions this is the final version which I am most happy with.  It is ideal for serving soup and of course lotus leaf rice.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAlotus lid

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories container, JT pottery, pottery, wood

Court Lantern

08/09/2013 //
0

court lantern DSC_0203

DIA800xH800mm, China

It is believed that the first court lantern was made for Emperor Liu Xiu, 23 A.D., after successfully unifying the country he held a large banquet in the palace, decorated with ribbons and lanterns.  Until the Sui dynasty, the court lantern is restricted for the use in the palace.  On the coronation of Emperor Wen, 590 A.D., the city Lou Yang held a bit celebration with nightly banquets, operas and court lanterns hanging throughout.  Since then, on the day of  Yuan Xiao every family will hang up court lanterns on the main beam of the living room.

This is the wooden frame of the lantern, a decorative silk or glass panels.  The frame can be folded up nicely for storage till the next Yuan Xiao festival.

Tags , , , , ,
Categories lighting, wood

Oil Lamp

08/08/2013 //
0

oil lampW90xD60xH200mm, China

 A figurine of a boy dressed in a du dou, a long life locklet and lifting a bowl on top of him.  The bowl is the oil container for the oil lamp while the boy being the stand.  The name of the lamp, “Boy Raising A Lamp” (童子舉燈) signified however, the lamp is referring only to the container itself.  This is a popular theme for Chinese oil lamp, of different material and for pottery different kilns.  This figurine is an example of the Ci Zhou kiln.  The name 童子舉燈 “Tong Zi Ju Deng” is taken as a blessing for the child of the family, the first three words 童子舉 is a name for a official tang dynasty exam for the gifted child of under 10 years of age, while the word 燈 “deng” is a homonym to the word 登”deng” meaning ascend, achieved.

Tags , , , , , , ,
Categories figurine, lighting, pottery

Felt Hat

08/07/2013 //
0

felt hat

RIM DIA220mm, China

This felt hat is part of the Beijing Opera costume, it is one that is worn by the Chou (clown) character.  Within the clown category, it is separated into the fighters and the intellectuals (I guess for clowns, this would mean the non-fighters).  This hat is used by a type of  intellectual clowns known as the Towel Clown (Jin Zi Chou) in the role of an old and amusing man.  The most famous of the Towel Clown is Chong Gung Dou, the old guard who helped the loyal prostitute Su San to escape.

Tags , , , , , , , ,
Categories costume, fabric

Tie Dye

08/06/2013 //
0

Tie DyeTextile Width 1140mm

This is a piece of tie dye fabric, the folds created by the tie is still visible on the cloth, like the sketch mark on a drawing.  For me, these marks of process are very subtle and touching.  There is a sense of human creativity verse the now computer aided design products.

To see the making of tie dye fabric click here.

Tags , , ,
Categories fabric
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »