L430xD60xH110mm, China
This wood carving would have been the center piece of a furniture. A pair of phoenix amidst an intricate carving of clouds are flying towards the raising sun.
The phoenix is a pair of mythical birds that symbolizes peace. These king of birds flying towards the sun represent an expectation of well being to come; a blessing of health, longevity and goodness.
W45xH90mm, China
This is a glove puppet head for the character Guan Yu.
One of the heros in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu was the loyal general of the warlord Lui Bei. With the help of Guan, Lui Bei later formed the Han Dynasty and unified China.
Guan Yu is portrayed with having a red face, 9 feet tall with a 2 feet long beard and eyes of a pheonix. A powerful and masculine figure. Aside from his bravery, Guan Yu is known for his loyalty.
W80xL160xH25mm, China
This cute looking creature is a kirin, a mythical animal, it has the head of a horse, a pair of horns, a body full of scale and the tail of a dragon. It is kind, peace loving, for this gentle nature, it is often portrayed to be riding on clouds or waves and not treading over the delicate grass. The kirin lives in the sky and only one rare occasions will visit human, bringing along good fortune, thus seen as a good omen.
Click to see our other cookie moulds and kirins.
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.
W170xD60xH130mm, China
“Child from the Saints” is a popular blessing subject in the Ming and Qing period, symbolizing blessing and fertility. The legend dated back to the late Han dynasty, when the Wei Emperor to be was a poor farmer. One spring, when he was working in the field, he saw a immaculate carriage landed from the sky, inside of the carriage was a beautiful lady. He put away his tools and went to greet the visitor, the lady told him she is send by the Jade Emperor to be his wife, the two got married on the day, the lady saint said she has to go back to heaven and would meet him again a year later at the same place. A year later, Wei arrived early to the field awaiting for his date, the magic carriage appeared, inside it was the lady saint together with a baby. She handed him the baby and said he was his son and he will be the Emperor.
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.
DIA45xH45mm, China
A small bowl for feeding the bird inside the cage. One for water and another for to contain food such as millet, corn, fruits, etc, but for special treats, this would be used.
The wood attachment that bears the guai zi dragon pattern, a pattern that is used in furniture and architecture a like, is for fixing the container to the rods of the cage.
Click to see our bird cage accessories.
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.
W45xH90mm, China
This puppet head is the General Deng Ai of the 3 Kingdom period (197-264 AD). The story “Tan Shan Gu” has been made into opera and puppet theater. At the time, China was divided into 3 kingdoms, General Deng was defending the Wei kingdom against the attack of the General Jiang Wei of the Shu kingdom.
W50xD40xH140mm, Hong Kong
This figurine belonged to the Tanka tribe, a group who lived on junks by the bay and fish for a living. In the Guangdong area, it said that their junks used to be tied together which stretches a mile long. As time goes by, with development along the coastline, better living offer on land, most and almost all of the junks have disappeared.
This is an ancestor figurine of a middle ranking female, the crane symbolizes a departure from this world like the saints.
Mountain Folkcraft 
