W50xL140xH100mm, China
An old clay toy, of a cute rooster.
Dont belittle the rooster, it was the earliest form of time keeping, announcing to the world the start of a new day. With its ability to bring the sun out and to make the night retreat (a bit of a reverse logic), the Chinese thus believe that the rooster is able to keep the devil away.
Click for our other clay rooster toy and other clay toys.
W210xD85xH300mm, China
Ground Opera is performed in at the end of the Chinese New Year, on the day of Yuan Xiao. The story performed in the Ground Opera are solely about warfare and battles, romance and other dramas script are nonexistent. This is due to the fact that the origin of the performance is basing on the welfare, though the performers are ordinary farmers, their ancestors were military settlement dated back to the Ming dynasty. They still have the warrior’s spirit running in them. It is believed that the spirits of these fighters will returned during the performance, helping to cast away any evils and to bless the village for the coming year. Rituals are performed before and after the shows.
Also unlike other Chinese operas, the character of the Ground Theatre is not defined by the category of Sheng, Dan, Jing, Chou. The main characters in the show are all warriors, broadly divided into male and female (by the eyebrow), old and young (by the beard), temperament (by facial colour), hero and villain (by the facial marking). From this we can determined that this mask would belong to the role of a loyal villian warrior fighter.
W100xH320mm, China
Before the arrival of the internet, tv, moving pictures, the shadow puppets are the closest to an animated reality. It has been said that concept of shadow puppet came some 2000 years ago in the Han dynasty. The Han emperor was extremely depressed after the death of the Empress and was unable to the ruling of the country. Advisor Li who has been devoted to the Emperor was deeply concerned, one afternoon in the street he saw a kid playing with a doll, it was the movement of the shadow that had captivated him. Li used cotton to made the features of the Empress, supported the arms and legs on rod, with a candle behind, a screen was placed in front of the mannequin. The Emperor came into the tent one evening and saw his beloved Empress once again.
This shadow puppet is a Xiao Sheng character, playing roles that are young handsome, well learnt scholar and usually matched by a beautiful diva Dan role.
Click here to see more of our shadow puppets.
W90xL600mm, China
A piece of hand embroidery from the minority tribes of the Yunnan province. A simple geometrical composed with x-stitch embroidery, this piece consist of 3 trimmings for sleeves or pockets, adding some fine details to the costume.
DIA330xH70mm, China
A lacquer tray of a lion playing with a xiu qiu (a fabric ball), a symbol of blessing from this mythical powerful creature.
The tray is constructed by 8 sections and a flat octagonal size board in the center, held with a wire. The base of the 8 sections have fine carving painted in gold.
Click here to see our other lacquer trays.
W300xH490mm, China
The worship of the heaven and earth is perhaps the most primitive of all faith. Heaven and earth included all the natural and fundamental elements such as the sun, moon and the galaxy, mountain, valley, river, lake and the sea, wind, rain, thunder and lighting are all part of the believes. The power of nature poses both blessing and treats to the human world. All, these elements are humanized into a saint known as the God of Heaven and Earth. Unlike the other saints, he is not housed in a temple as he symbolizes the universe as such; on Chinese New Year day, a wood block print of him will be posted up under the eaves for worship. Other time you will come across the God of Heaven and Earth are in traditional Chinese weddings, the bride and the groom will begin their wedding ritual by worshiping this god of the universe.
Below the Jade Emperor in the middle of this wood block print is an image of a tablet where it is written, “天地三界 十方萬靈”, there are 3 dimensions, the heaven, the earth and the dead, saints are every where.
Waist 430mm, Hong Kong
A waist coat we have designed with a piece of brocade from the Miao tribe. In traditional Miao costume, its normally found as a decoration for collars, sleeves, as well as for baby carriers.
For needle brocade, the technique used for this fabric please fwd to 9m20s.
W15xL60xH50mm, China
These black colour clay toys are a specialty from the Huai Yang area. The figurines take on many forms, from domestic animals to monster like creatures, as they began not as toys but saintly totems for worshiping. The lion was not originated from China, its legends came together with the Buddhism from India. The lion was not any ordinary wild animal but mystical creature with super power, it was worshiped for its power and its protection. As time goes by, the idea of the lion totem began to lose sharp, the figurines portray friendly and even cute lions and instead of being an object of worship, they are more like a children’s toy.
L210xD35xH100mm, China
The character in this golden wood carving is known as Lin Bu, a poet in the North Sung dynasty, he is surrounded by plum blossoms and there is a crane by his side. Lin led a hermetic life on a small hill at the West Lake in Huangzhou, never setting foot in the city, he found company with the monks whom he would visit with his small boat. Lin also admire plum blossoms which he planted around his hut, this also inspired him to write poems about them. Lin also kept a couple of cranes for company. It is said that if he got unexpected guests visiting while he is out on his boat, the cranes would flew to him, hoover above his boat and gave him his message. Lin was never married, the plum blossom being his wife and the crane his sons, this phrase 梅妻鶴子 (Mei Qi He Zi) became a description for a hermetic life.
DIA220xH160mm, China
Hotpot is a popular dish in China.
Fresh meat and vegetable bleached with boiling soup then dipped into a variety of different sauces is super tasty. Hotpot used to be a winter dish; eating around the stove with meat just off the pot, rice wine and friends is the perfect meal for a freezing evening. Since the invention of air conditioner, we just find any excuses for such gathering, even on a 30+c summer night.
Before the induction stove, the canister gas stove, charcoal is used to heat up the soup for hotpot. Despite its appearance, this is stove for the hotpot where a traditionally a chimney donut shaped copper pot would be placed over the porcelain stove. Charcoal will be placed in the slot at bottom which opened up to the center of the stove and into the copper chimney, the copper conducts the heat to the rest of the pot.
Mountain Folkcraft 
