Craft Work

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Craft Work

Metal Arts

By the Tang dynasty (618-907), Chinese metal art—especially engraved gold or silver objects—had become elaborate and exquisite. Metal ornaments and utensils with elegant and colorful decoration were produced. Bronze mirrors became smooth and shiny, and their backs were decorated with gold and silver relief or inlay. Designs for these mirrors included clouds and dragons, flying horses, grapevines, hunting scenes, flowers, and polo players. The technology for making metal sculpture developed

during the Song dynasty (960-1279). The twenty-four-meter-tall Buddha in Guanyin Hall at the Duleshi (Temple of Lonely Happiness) in Jixian County, Hebei Province, is the largest bronze figure made in imperial China. Its body proportions are balanced, and the lines of its drapery are smooth. Cloisonne enamel was the greatest product of the Ming period (1368-1644). Thin brass wires were welded to bronze to form various designs, and the spaces were filled with colorful enamels and gilded with silver or gold. Cloisonne became prevalent during the reign of Ming emperor Jingtai (ruled 1449-1457), so it was called “Jingtailan” in Chinese. Jingtailan is sumptuous and beautiful and was admired by the court and the nobles. As a result, there emerged a series of Jingtailan products and designs, which the court and noble families collected. During the reign of Ming emperor Xuande (1425-1435), craftsmen made gracefully shaped and richly decorated bronze stoves, which became popular and were called Xuande stoves.

Silk. During the Tang dynasty the craftsmanship of silk textile workers developed rapidly all over China. Various regional silk products flourished, including liangkeling (double-nest silk) and dukeling (single-nest silk) in Dingzhou, fanyangling (fanyang silk) in Youzhou, kepaojin

(guest-robe brocade) and beijin (quilted brocade) in Yangzhou, and jiaoling (mixed silk) and shiyang hualing (ten-flower silk) in Yuezhou. These bright, high-quality textiles were named after features of their colors, designs, or weaving techniques. Tang embroidery was greatly enhanced by the development of new techniques such as wangxiu (nest embroidery), mandixiu (all-over embroidery), suosi (blocked silk), nasi (sewed silk), lusha (united sand), and panjin (plate gold). Tang brocade was especially elegant because the jacquard-weaving technique used by its weavers could produce a variety of designs. New techniques of dyeing, printing, or color drawing on silk were introduced. Most Tang silk designs were made with line drawings in such designs as Buddhist images, flying horses, double phoenixes, peacocks, dragons, unicorns, flowers, grass, leaves, and stems. They are imaginative, harmonious, and colorful. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, silk production and markets increased, as did the quality of materials and designs. There emerged several production centers: Kaifeng, Luoyang, and Huzhou of the empire of the Northern Song, as well as Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Chengdu in that of the Southern Song. Song brocade is known for its riotous profusion of colors, and its jacquard weaving is well-done. Its many designs have imaginative names such as “Green Plants and Cloud Goose,” “Green Grass and Cloud Crane,” “Green Lion,” and “True Red Blanket Path and Snow Flowers.” Ke si, a form of tapestry woven from fine silks and gold thread, required excellent craftsmanship. Ke si designs could be woven in different colors and shading to copy paintings and calligraphic works, and thus design styles changed along with those of contemporary painting and calligraphy. The Mongolian rulers of the Yuan dynasty loved silk and promoted its production. The term duan (satin) was coined during this time. The scale of silk production was significantly enlarged during the Ming dynasty. Several new regional production centers were founded, including Jiaxing and Songjiang. All the various silk regions developed their own artistic styles. For instance, the high-quality “Song Brocade” of Suzhou imitated designs of the Song dynasty, and the sturdy “Cloud Brocade” of Nanjing was produced in strong colors. The new technique of embroidering the edges of silk pictures with gold thread was striking. The Ming technique of weaving Ke si could produce large silk pictures that observers mistook for paintings or calligraphy. The embroidery techniques of the Ming varied according to region. The Gu embroidery of Shanghai, Xiang embroidery of Hunan, Yue embroidery of Guangdong, Lu embroidery of Shandong, and Su embroidery of Suzhou each had its distinctive artistic features. Gu embroidery was especially popular and well known for its strict and balanced stitching, artistic designs, vivid colors, and refined workmanship.

Lacquerware and Carving. During the Tang dynasty craftsmen began to inlay gold or silver into lacquerware. By the Song and the Yuan dynasties lacquer craftsmanship had considerably advanced. Usually, ten layers of lacquer were painted on wood, and then the object was engraved with various pictures and designs—such as landscapes, flowers, plants, birds, animals, stones, and human figures-producing an object that looked three-dimensional. Sometimes, different colors were applied after the lacquerware was engraved, and gold outlining was introduced. During the Ming dynasty, lacquerware became still more advanced. Ming carved lacquerware (tihong) was made in graceful shapes with smooth carving and rich designs. Red lacquer-ware was made on gold, silver, or wood bases, often with a hundred layers of red lacquer, and it was then carved into various designs. If yellow lacquer was used, it was called tihuang. Black lacquerware was called tihei. Craftsmen also began to inlay lacquerware with mother-of-pearl. Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province and Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province were important centers for lacquerware production. The technique of carving jade, ivory, and bamboo reached a high level of sophistication during the Ming era. A Ming craftsman could carve a piece of bamboo into an imitation of an ancient bronze vessel. Zhu Min of Jiading in Jiangsu Province was famous for his bamboo carving. Carved jade, because of its precious raw material, was confined to the nobility. Ivory carvings were produced in many complex designs.