This 20th Century painting is done using the painting techniques of 10th Century Huang Quan, that is, color over color washes for the flowers.[16H] Hua Niao is the classification of 'Flowers and Birds' that comes from Hui Zong's Ten Categories of Paintings (1101-1125).[1A, 73B] It is a hand painted perching grosbeak on a branch of flowering magnolia. The magnolia flower is the Chinese symbol for beautiful women and is written 'yu lan'.[123N] Magnolia flower petals were seen ...click for details
This classical Hua Niao painting is a 20th Century rendition of a green kingfisher on a blooming hibiscus branch overlooking a lily pond, perhaps looking for his next meal. [143M] It is signed ink and color on silk art work using the techniques of Huang Quan, 10th Century Chinese painter, known for his color on color washes (see hibiscus flower photo). Also mi fu and mi youren boneless technique, where no ink outline of color is used for the orange berries, kingfisher's feet and some grassla ...click for details
This 20th Century silk embroidery was hand made in China by craftsmen whose history of this art goes back at least to the Tang Dynasty.[111 I, 73J] A bright color polychromatic embroidery of a small bird on a blooming Prunus branch is framed by raised panels of brocades. Close inspection (see photos) reveals delicate shading inside the flowers. This wall art is framed under glass and wired for hanging. References available upon request.
Embroidery size: ~ 12 1/2" H x 5 1/2"; Framed ...click for details
This hardstone Chinese carving of a carabao group is carved from a single block of mottled dark greenish gray serpentine with fluorescent yellow colors. A mother water buffalo and her two attentive calves are depicted in a soft luster through lapidary art in what the Chinese call shou shan stone. The water buffalo, or carabao, symbolize the coming of an abundant spring and fertile new year.[123A] The sculpture displays complicated carving and polishing because of its many undercuts. The three s ...click for details
This large hand carved treen is of a carabao with two herd boys on his back mounted in a custom 'rice paddy' base. This sculpture appears crafted from one piece of hardwood with many undercuts and inlaid eyes and ivory teeth. This treen has age cracks which we can restore and was probably carved about 1920. It has the double symbolism of abundant harvest and fertility.[40A, 123D, 11F]
The carabao is covered with hair, shown here in swirling patterns around its body. These animals must ...click for details
This chalcedony snuff bottle exhibits dramatic deep relief lapidary work to depict a Buddhistic tiger with a foliated tail and a stalk of flowers emerging from the mouth. On the other side are vines with ruyi head in lower relief. The snuff bottle has its original matching stopper. In folklore, even today, the tiger is a good friend and strong protecting spirit. The Buddhistic tiger transfers this protection symbolically to the Buddhist religion. The other symbol on this snuff bottle is the ruyi ...click for details
Hsi Wang Mu is the oldest Taoist cult figure, also known as the Queen of the Eight Immortals or Genii. She is first described on oracle bones in the 13th Century B.C. In some myths she holds the herb elixir of immortality and grows peaches in the Taoist paradise called Shou Shan (hills of longevity). The fabled peaches from her garden Hsi Wang Mu bestows on favored beings to increase their longevity.[92H] Hsi Wang Mu is depicted here relaxing on her phoenix, playing a musical instrument. R.L. ...click for details
This treen ('made from trees') is a finely sculptured image of the Chinese Taoist star god, Fu Hsing. It is mounted as a statue in a stand. However, from the back all one sees is the knotty, gnarled bent root. Upon turning the figure, we can observe Fu emerging from his root source, as a perfect combination of the popular Taoist god of good fortune and happiness coming out of the simple natural Taoist concepts.[123F] In folklore, Fu is one of the three star gods (actually the planet Jupi ...click for details
This rosewood carved treen was carved in the 1920's when inlaid ivory was used for eyes and teeth. It is marked 'China' and has the sculptor's mark on the bottom. It displayed on a fitted carved wooden stand. The carving is of a water buffalo lying in a rice paddy with a child on its back. The child on the water buffalo has a double symbolic meaning in Chinese art. The child symbolizes fertility and the water buffalo an abundance of harvest. The rosewood carving has been cleaned ...click for details
This Tibetan Prayer Wheel appears to be made of three or more metals; a bamboo handle; and a tightly wound paper scroll assumed to contain printed mantras. This is a personal prayer wheel carried by Tibetans and used during their daily activities. Much larger prayer wheels (4-5 feet high) exist in monasteries, nunneries and pilgrimage sites. Regardless of the size, designs or locations, all prayer wheels have the same principal usage. The person must recite mantras which activate the thousands o ...click for details
