Archives for posts with tag: bamboo
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Gourd Basket

01/08/2012 //
0

DIA150xH300mm, China

Gourd is kind of squash, its latin name is Lagenaria Siceraria, traditionally the Chinese view it as an icon of blessing.  It has been with the Chinese culture for a long long time, its seeds were found at a Zhe Jiang 5000BC archaeological site, the hollowed out dried skin is probably the first liquid container used before pottery and bronze.  It is also commonly used in the old days to store medicine, there is an old say, “wonder what kind of potion is stored in this gourd” meaning a suspicion of someone up to something.

The gourd used for the basket is not of the common “8” shape (see entry Small Gourd) form but a more rounded shape, which is a species from Japan.

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Categories bamboo, container

Water Pipe

12/20/2011 //
0

H250xW90xD30mm, China

Tobacco has been introduced to China in the Ming dynasty; imported from the Philippines, Japan and locally from Fu Jian.  Water pipe has been a  popular pass time in the Qing dynasty.  Empress Dowager Ci Xi is a lover of the water pipe and a has a large collection.  This is a peasant’s water pipe, made with bamboo as a material; the bamboo are natural in its smooth finish and in the shape, true to nature without any alteration.  The fancy type will be made of copper-nickel, copper, bronze, pewter with the mouth piece with jade or agate.  The Chinese believed that water is a good filter for the impurity and toxin of the tobacco.  However, the water is not changed often, after a while the water are filled with tar and becomes gluey (and possibly toxic), peasants will apply a few drop to ticks which would let go of their bite, the ticks will drop off instantly.

TOBACCO SERIOUSLY DAMAGES HEALTH

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Categories bamboo, tools

Cricket Cage

12/10/2011 //
2

W100xD40xH110mm, China

This whiskey flask shaped cage is for keeping crickets.  Chinese have been keeping crickets since the Tang dynasty, however, very few of them as been kept as pet but rather as fighters.  Cricket has a life span of around 100 days, cricket match traditionally take place in autumn, it is said that the word “autumn” 秋 represented 2 crickets.  Cricket fight is banned in Hong Kong, so good to say that those raised here are only as pets for admiration.   This cage has 3 compartments, 2 small ones on the upper deck and 1 at the lower deck.  As each male cricket need to be  isolated to avoid conflicts, 3 can be raised in this single cage.  As in all the Chinese bamboo cage design,  if you look closely at a gate, one of the bars is shorter, this acts as a safety lock so that the gate cannot open accidental.

For a more natural cricket cage, see the entry gourd cricket cage.

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Categories bamboo, cage, container

Bamboo Box

12/08/2011 //
0

 W110xL80xH50mm, China

This box is entirely made out of bamboo, even using the natural cross section of the bamboo to create this pattern.

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Categories bamboo, container

Handmade Paper

12/01/2011 //
0

W500xL600mm, China

Though paper is one of the 4 great invention of China, handmade paper is a dying art.  To earn a living from making paper is hard work; there are all together 72 steps!  This is only a rough idea what is has been done to make the paper.

First, in late spring young bamboo are collected from the forest, these 2 m long bamboo are then cut into 2 cm wide stripes.  These stripes are soaked in lime water for 2 to 3 months.  At the point, the bamboo would have turned yellowish, they are then rinsed and cleaned with water and the knots and the outer skin will be removed.  These stripes are then put in a 5 m long x 1 m wide wooden trough for stomping (just as grape stomping for wine).  Now we finally have the paste for paper making; the paste is put into a 2 m long by 1 m tall wooden trough and mixed with a glue solution.  A deckle with fine silk sieve mounted on a wooden frame is lowered into the paste and then taken out, after the water is drained away a thin layer of paste is left.  The paste sheet is flipped out on wooden board, silk sieve removed and we have a wet piece of paper.  These wet paper is piled up and water squeeze out under the wooden press.  Lastly, the paper are separated and posted on the drying room one by one.  These workshops are usually run by 10 people;  2 for the stripping of bamboo, 2 for stomping, 3 for sieving, 2 for drying and one for all the other bits and pieces.

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Categories bamboo, paper

Bamboo Case

11/20/2011 //
0

W230xD110xH180mm, China

This is a bamboo case with all the parts; hinges, bolds, handles are made out of bamboo.  This brings back a lot of memories for me, as a child of a folkcraft shop owners this is the version of the Bond’s gadget briefcase I had.  Inside stored all my little treasures.

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Categories bamboo, container

Ikebana Basket

11/02/2011 //
0

Dia110xH400mm, Japan

Bamboo as a material has been a very well utilised in Japan (and Asia) such that bamboo weaving became a specialized craft. Bamboo tree of 3-4 years old are cut, boiled to remove the oil and dried under the sun (there colour would turn from green to brown).  The bamboo is first split by a tool known as the Kikuwari (which looks a bit like the fruit cutter) dividing the bamboo stem into equal divisions.  The surface of the bamboo is then scrap off to allow the lacquer or other finishes to absorb.  To make the higo, each of the large section is split into half with the knife from the back side of the bamboo, the strip is peeled and then strip again to the desired width.  Finally, each strip is then rounded off on the 2 sides and the thickness evened, the higo is ready for weaving.  All these steps might sound simple but will take a very experience craftman to produce good quality higo, just for using the kikuwari to split straight down would take at least 3 years of practice.  This is a simple bamboo ikebana basket for Japanese flower decoration.

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Categories bamboo, container

Bamboo Snake

10/30/2011 //
2

L500mm, China

This is a snake toy made of section of small bamboo, with each section held together by a small metal rod.  Holding on to the tail section, it will become animated and move like a real snake ready to attack!

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Categories bamboo, toy

Bamboo Carving

10/19/2011 //
0

H270xW40xL100mm, China

Since the Ming dynasty bamboo carving has been seen as a specialized art; the practitioners are literati who are master of calligraphy and stone carving, this together with the nature of the material bamboo (hollow internally with knots at intervals), bamboo carving  has combined painting and sculpture in one art form.  There are broadly two type of bamboo carving, utilitarian and decorative.  The utilitarian form mostly make use of the hollow of the bamboo shaft (e.g. a pen holder, wine cup, weight etc) and relief type engraving on the surface of the bamboo.  The decorative form are sculpture of figurines, birds, etc, the design would play on the solid and void of the material.  This carving is the early work of the famous artist Zhang De He of Zhe style.

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Categories bamboo, figurine

Japanese Round Fan (Uchiwa)

10/03/2011 //
0

(L)L700xW550mm (S)L370xW260mm, Japan

This is a Japanese fan, uchiwa, it is constructed from a single piece of bamboo.  The bottom part of the bamboo forms the handle while the top part is split into many equal splinters which are splayed out radially to create the frame of the fan, paper is then pasted on top and varnished for water protection.  For the large uchiwa, thick cotton string is used to tie together the bamboo stems to reinforce the fan structure.  The uchiwa are believed to be originated from China, during the Tong dynasty they were introduced to Japan and also became a popular accessories for the aristocracy and ladies.  The pattern on the paper are refined and elaborated.  Apart from daily use for cooling, the uchiwa is also used in ceremonies, dances and gifts.

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Categories bamboo, paper, tools
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