Archives for posts with tag: china
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Oil Flask

11/02/2012 //
3

DIA50xH100mm, China

This item selected by Furze for the Something Old Something New exhibition and is available at both Mountain Folkcraft and Soil.

In the old days this flask would have been used in the kitchen for keeping oil or soy sauce for cooking.  Now with the hairy crab (Chinese mitten crabs) season coming up, it would be ideal for serving Hua Diao wine.  Being pottery, you can submerge the flask into hot water to heat up the wine.  Now talk about pottery and hairy crab, I cant help to show a piece of my work.

W120xD80xH40mm, Hong Kong (not for sale)

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Categories container, figurine, JT pottery, Mountain Folkcraft X Soil, pottery

Miao Video

09/17/2012 //
0

Found this really nice video about the journey to the Miao tribe, just want to share!  Enjoy!

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Categories tribal, Uncategorized

God of Longevity

08/23/2012 //
0

W200xD100xH250mm, China

Although the god of longevity originated from the stars, his large and elongated brain has nothing to do with the alien and the outer space.  The form of his head is associated with longevity, like that of  the mystical bird, the red crown crane (grus japonensis).  The red crown crane lives to 50-60 years old  which is consider to be very long when the average life span of birds are about 10-15 years.  Another association is queen mother god’s longevity peach which the plant only flower and bear once 3000 years.  Combining both of these longevity forms his head took on the exaggerated shape.

Click  to see our clay and stone version.

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Categories figurine, pottery

Bird Feeding Cage

05/07/2012 //
0

W40xD20xH50mm, China

This is another type of bird feeder, a slight cruel one.  A live cricket or insect treat is put inside the cage which is then attached to the side of the bamboo bird cage, the gate is opened from the outside and here comes “dinner”!  The detail by the gate is for the attachment of the bamboo bar of the bird cage.

Click here for a more traditional bird feeder.

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Categories bamboo, container, tools, wood

Buddha’s Birthday

04/28/2012 //
2

W100xD100xH200mm, China

Today, the 8th day of lunar April, is the birthday of the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama).  According to the legend, on the night when Siddhartha was conceive, his mother Queen Maya has a dream.  In her dream there was a white elephant with 6 tusks holding a lotus flower went circling around her 3 times and then entered her right side.  The next morning Queen Maya told King Suddhodana the story and the King summoned the wise men to decipher the dream.  It was predicted that the child would become a great king or a Buddha (the enlighten one).

This is a wooden figurine of the Buddha, the third eye (spiritual awakening) of the Buddha is represented by the inlay of a tiny pearl.

If you happens to be in Hong Kong click here and join in the celebration.

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Categories figurine, wood

Coconut Teapot

03/19/2012 //
0

DIA130xH130mm, China

Since the Tang dynasty , eating utensils have been made from the shell of the coconut.  In the Sung dynasty, they even favored by the intellectuals of the time, the carving became refined and decorative so refined that by the Ming and Qing dynasty, coconut carvings have made it as a imperial offering to the Emperor!  There are broadly 2 types of coconut teapots; the first has a inner layer made of metal (pewter, silver, bronze etc) and small pieces of coconut shell set over, the second (like this one) is made from a whole coconut shell.

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Categories container, wood

Buddhist Prayer Bead

02/24/2012 //
2

DIA20mm, China

This is an buffalo bone bead for the buddhist rosary, Mala.  The Mala is used for counting the number of times a mantra has been recited.  Bone beads (because of its material departing from the idea of Chinese Buddhism) is not commonly used for the Chinese buddhist rosary.  In Tibetan Buddhism, however, the use the nature bones and horns are a reminder of the impermanence of our bodies and that we are, like everything else just a passing phenomenon.

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Categories jewellery
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