If you have an afternoon free on this coming wed, 4 Feb, do bring your kids to attend a traditional Chinese Puppetry show at the Academy for Performing Arts.
Puppetry Stories will perform 4 different type of puppetry; rod, string, glove, shadow in shows Eight-Commandment Pig Carry Wife on the Back, Daming Perfecture, and Monkey Subdues White-Skeleton Demon.
4 Feb 2015, 15:00
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Amphitheater
Academy of Performing Arts
Wanchai, Hong Kong
W240xH170mm, China
The embroidery for this child’s du dou (traditional under garment) departed from the popular theme of blessing; that of fertility, protection, etc.
It is unusual for the embroidery to depart from the generic themes of blessing, I have a feeling that the embroidery is the portrait if of the child the du dou is for, a chubby naughty boy who is the darling in her mother’s eyes.
Click to see our other du dou.
DIA120xH70mm, China
A small bowl, ideal for desert, tea and a greedy sake drinker.
Personally, I am very fond of black glaze ware.
Bold, warm, depth, simplic.
W380xH520mm, China
Bird and the Plum Blossom,
a traditional and popular composition for Chinese crafts.
A play on the phase 喜上眉梢 (xi shang mei shao), one is so happy that joy is expressed when in the eye brow. You might wonder what a facial express has to do with plum blossom and bird. The bird is 喜鵲 pica pica (magpie), its climbing on the plum branch 喜上梅梢 (xi shang mei que) has the same pronunciation has this uncontrollable joy.
Bird and Plum Blossom theme with
pearl inlay craft – pearl box,
pottery pattern – plum & bird plate,
ceramic figurines – pottery birds,
wood carving – birds in plum blossom
DIA300mm, China
PURPLE by Ken Nordine
Purple,
all dignity, all pomp, all put on, has aura to be felt as well as seen.
Purple has class, some say the highest, they stand in awe in of purple, royally, loyally in awe.
This alone makes pompous purple king.
King purple views there is a right that is his, it goes way way back to the beginning, to the place where pomp began, that is purple pomp.
Some says, those in the know, that purple got pomp from the first of the purple queens, from mother pomp, who thought it all up, the purple dignity, the purple pomp, the purple put on, thought it all up so anyone purple from then till now would never have to ever work.
And that’s why purple is king.
DIA120xH120mm, China
A teapot with 3 handles and 3 spouts, traditionally termed as the “teapot for the blind”, it is easy to grab in all directions.
I wonder if it is better to be called “wine flask for the drunk”.
W60xD40xH90mm, China
A little clay figurine dressed in red and holding a fish.
This toy embedded many of the wishes that the parents would want for their child.
On his vest is the word “shou” 壽 – longevity,
while the fish 魚 “yu” shares the same sound as 余 “yu” – plentiful.
In the old days, when life is harsh, staying alive and having enough to survive on is a hope for the future. These words of blessing are often found in wood block prints, pottery, embroidery, wood carvings and even the name for dishes.
DIA130mm, China
zig zag zig zag ziggy zaggy zig zag zig zag
W510xH420mm, China
In the center of the du dou (traditional Chinese under garment) is an embroidery of the Goddess of Child Delivery, the Taoist goddess who is in charge of fertility and child bearing. The young wives would worship the goddess by offering sweet and fruits in the temple, a “cim” stick would be drawn, a lucky cim would meant the goddess has granted the woman’s wish of having a child, a small jacket would then be put on the child figurine which the goddess is holding. After the child is born, the mother would return to thank the goddess with a feast of offering.
W120xH410mm, China
At the hands of the master puppeteer, under the light a piece of leather would come to life so vividly that somethings even actor and actress can’t fill their place.
This shadow puppet is a female warrior, Dong Yue E, one of the warriors of the Yang family. The wife of the third son, she is known for her skill in archery and her arrow would never miss a thing.
Mountain Folkcraft 