Archives for posts with tag: black and white

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W120xD120xH300mm, China

Master 7 and Master 8 comes in a pair, 7 tall and white, 8 shorta and black .  Master 7&8 (aka the Black and white Supernaturals) are probably the most horrifying members of the underworld as they are guards from hell who also execute punishment for the dead.  Master 7 is known as  Xie Bi An, Master 8 Fan Wu Jiu, the two were close friends who worked as guards for a small court.  One day the prisoner they were escorting managed to escaped.  They went their separate ways to search for the fugitive and agreed to meet back at the embankment by the bridge at a certain hour.  It rained hard and didnt stop, Xie (8) didnt manage to get to the embankment in time while Fan (7) waited.  Fan saw the water level on the river raise, started to flood but remain there, he didnt want his friend to think that he has deserted him and left Xie to take the blame of losing the prisoner.  When Xie got there, the river has flooded, Fan being a shorty got drowned.  Xie was upset with himself, he was too tall to drown himself, so he found a tree and hang himself, finally making the appointment with Fan in the underworld.  The Jade Emperor was impressed by the loyalty the two has shown and made them the Generals of Hell.

On the night of the Halloween when all the ghosts are about, perhaps Master 7 and 8 would get a day off from their tasks as well.

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dishDIA275xH90mm, China

We are used to seeing blue and white porcelain, the black and white pottery is equally famous, dated back to the Sung dynasty.  Originated from Ci Zhou, He Bei (north eastern China), at the end of Sung dynasty, to escape from the war in the north, artisan and craftsman moved to the south and brought along the technique with them.  Ci Zhou pottery is not only rooted in Ci Zhou but Ji Zhou in the south.

Unlike blue and white porcelain, the white background of hte Ci Zhou ware is made by coating the pottery with a white slip.  In this particular item, under glaze is then painted after bisque firing and coated with transparent glazing.  In some Ci Zhou ware the idea of the slip is push to the extreme where strokes and carving comes into play.

W65xL3200mm, China

Like the colourful band in the previous post, this black and white woven band is also a band of blessing.  The Miao tribe reside on the hillside where they are constantly harassed by the snakes; once upon a time, a snake attacked a girl by wrapping its body on her, a young lad came to her rescue.  The two soon fell in love, the girl woven a band for the young man as a sign of their love.  One day as they were travelling together they came across another snake who was ready to attack, the lad used the band, wiggle it to imitate the snake and led the snake back into the woods.  Since then, it was believed that the band would protect them from snake and all evils and the woven band became popular for the Miao.

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