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L280xW80xH20mm, China

A cookie mould of – a mushroom, a pomegranate and a fan.

You might find the combination a bit odd;
the mushroom is ganoderma, a type of wood fungi which is believed to give longevity, a saintly plant,
pomegrante, the whole fruit being just seeds is a symbol of fertility,
the fan is a symbol of a scholar, they are often hang on the wall to give a blessing for the family to have a scholar.

So in fact, the three items are a representation of the famous Fu Lu Shou,

Amongst the unique pottery, you will also find Mountain Folkcraft’s collection at the Cobo Ceramic Workshop X’mas Sale.

COBO CERAMIC WORKSHOP
1/F Fortune Court, 33 Morrison Hill Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

5 – 9 Dec 2014 (Fri – Tue)
13:00-20:00

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fan

DIA600mm, Hong Kong

心經  The Heart Sutra

bō rě bō luó mì duō xīn jīng
般若 波羅 蜜多心 經
guān zì zài pú sà, xíng shēn bō rěbō luó mì duō shí,zhào jiàn wǔ yùn jiē kōng
觀自在菩薩, 行深般若波羅蜜多時, 照見五蘊皆空,
dù yī qiē kǔ è 。 shè lì zǐ, sè bú yì kōng ,kōng bú yì sè,
度一 切苦 厄。舍利 子,色不 異空, 空不 異色,
sè jí shì kōng ,kōng jí shì sè。 shòu xiǎng xíng shí, yì fù rú shì
色即 是空, 空即 是色。受想 行識, 亦復 如是。
shè lì zǐ, shì zhū fǎ kōng xiāng, bù shēng bú miè, bú gòu bú jìng,
舍利子, 是諸法空相, 不生不滅, 不垢不淨,
bù zēng bù jiǎn, shì gù kōng zhōng wú sè, wú shòu xiǎng xíng shí, wú yǎn ěr
不增不減, 是故空中無色, 無受想行識, 無眼耳
bí shé shēn yì, wú sè shēng xiāng wèi chù fǎ, wú yǎn jiè, nǎi zhì wú yì shí jiè,
鼻舌身意, 無色聲香味觸法, 無眼界,乃至無意識界,
wú wú míng, yì wú wú míng jìn, nǎi zhì wú lǎo sǐ, yì wú lǎo sǐ jìn
無無明, 亦無無明盡, 乃至無老死,亦無老死盡。
wú kǔ jí miè dào, wú zhì yì wú dé,yǐ wú suǒ dé gù
無苦集滅道, 無智亦無得,以無所得故。
pú tí sà duǒ, yī bō rě bō luó mì duō gù, xīn wú guàài。 wú guà ài,
菩提薩埵,依般若波羅蜜多故,心無掛礙。無 掛礙,
gù wú yǒu kǒng bù, yuǎn lí diān dǎo mèng xiǎng, jiū jìng niè pán
故無有恐怖, 遠離顛倒夢想, 究竟涅槃。
sān shì zhū fó, yī bō rě bō luó mì duō gù, déā nòu duō luó sān miǎo sān pú tí
三世諸佛, 依般若波羅蜜多故, 得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
gù zhī bō rě bō luó mì duō, shì dà shén zhòu, shì dà míng zhòu
故知般若波羅蜜多, 是大神咒, 是大明咒,
shì wú shàng zhòu, shì wú děng děng zhòu。 néng chú yí qiè kǔ, zhēn shí bù xū
是 無上 咒, 是無 等等 咒。能除 一切 苦, 真實 不虛。
gù shuō bō rě bō luó mì duō zhòu。 jí shuō zhòu yuē
故 說般 若波 羅蜜 多咒。即說 咒曰:
jiē dì jiē dì,bō luó jiē dī,
揭 諦揭 諦, 波羅 揭諦,
bō luó sēng jiē dī, pú tí sá pó hē
波羅 僧揭 諦,菩提薩 婆訶。

The heart Sutra is about emptiness;  things exists only through our minds… Thoughts, ideas, names, concepts. Nothing really exists on their own sides.

Here is the Dalai Lama’s teaching on the Heart Sutra and the 37 Practices.

goose feather fanW250xH380mm, China

Before the introduction of the electrical fan, the hand held fan are essential household items.  Poorer family would uses the palm leave fan, while the wealth ones with goose feather fans.

Goose feather fans has been associated with Zhu Ge Liang, the strategist of the San Guo period around 200AD.  Since then, the goose feather fan took on also as a symbol of wisdom and power.  There is the Chinese proverb “waving the goose feather fan” about the person who is the brain behind the show, the hand behind puppet.

W220xH440mm, China

The fan the matchmaker was holding is made from the leave of a palm tree, this instead is a goose feather fan and its most famous owner is no other than Zhu Ge Liang, the strategist of the San Guo period around 200AD.  Zhu Ge Liang is also known as Kong Ming, not only is he good at military strategy, he is also an inventor and literati, a symbol of intellect (apparently he is real handsome too).  Zhu Ge Liang, despite of the seasonal change, is never without his fan, they are almost inseparable from this gift from his wife.  Once upon a time there is a literati called Huang Cheng Yan, he has a beautiful daughter, to keep her safe from the men around, he named her ugly and she her to learn all sorts of martial arts.  When she completed the martial art apprenticeship her master gave her a goose feather fan.  On the fan is the word Ming and Liang and strategic military plans, her master told her the future husband will have the word Ming and Liang (shiny) in his name.  She married Zhu Ge Liang and gave him the fan as a present, he then had it everywhere he goes, even going with it to war.  It seems the fan is not only representing the love between the couple but a bible for military strategy.

W120xD100xH200mm, China

In the old days when free love was forbidden in China, all marriage proposals has to go through a matchmaker.  Even when the couples are already in love with each other, one would still have to go through a matchmaker in order to make the marriage a proper one.  The job of the matchmaker seems to be only opened to woman, apart from the proposing, they are also responsible for presenting the information of both families.  In order to make the deal, the positive points are often emphasised and the weakness carefully put.  Acting as the communicator for both families, she is also the   co-ordinator, MC, organiser for the wedding.

The head of the figurine nods and the body wobbles resembling the matchmaker lady saying all the goodness about the marriage.  The fan, of course, is the essential tool for the matchmaker, making sure everyone would stay cool during the big day.

(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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