Making of a masterpiece

Masters in jade carving are known to be able to turn a very ordinary jade boulder into an extraordinary art piece that command a very high price.

A CCTV journalist and her film crew invited a renown jade carving master to bid for an ordinary jade boulder in the jade market in Ruili (a border town in Yunnan) and turn it to a work of art and has it evaluated at a shop for its value

After searching around in the market for a while, he spotted a yellowish jade boulder that he thought he could turn it into a piece of art. He bargained very hard with the merchant and eventually got it for 1500 RMB. At this stage, he had no idea how the boulder might look like inside. He might also lose the investment if the inside of the boulder was full of flaws and cracks.

He brought the boulder back to his workshop and began thinking of a subject to carve. He did not want to carve the typical or traditional themes most masters would want to carve like Buddha, Goddess of Mercy, etc. He wanted something meaningful and extraordinary. Then he remembered he once took a photo with an old lady of the minority race in Yunnan.

 

He liked the pose of the old lady as she looked peaceful and calm with her palms together as if she was praying (may be she was thankful for being alive and well). He immediate had a theme that best described this old lady. It was A Grateful Heart and he had to pay particular attention to her facial expression and the hands. He immediately started work and to made a sketch on a piece of paper.

With the sketch of the old lady made, he started work on the jade boulder.

 



It was fortunate for him that inside the boulder was white jade of a high quality. Hence, he was able to carve out the old lady's contour and expression with ease. Don't forget, he was a master. So he had no difficulty in creating the facial expression of the lady on the boulder.

He spotted a flaw that ran along the side the boulder. As most masters were able to hide the flaw by carving something to remove the flaw. He eventually carved the traditional bag that most natives liked to carry with them. This would remove the flaw.

When the carving was completed, he went to a trader who was a specialist in making stands for jade sculptures. He had the stand also made for his carving by this trader.

When the stand was ready, it was time for him to bring the carving to a reputed shop and had it assessed by the boss. Everybody was excited as to see what the boss would say about this carving.

A grateful heart

The boss of the shop was amazed at this masterpiece. He was very please with such high standard of workmanship and the quality of the jade. The old lady appeared very peaceful and calm. The expression was vividly revealed in the carving. He immediate gave it a price of 40000 to 50000 RMB. You can work out what was the return. Don't forget he got the raw stone at a bargain price of 1500 RMB.

This story tells us that if you have the skills and creativity, you can turn very ordinary things to extraordinary works of art and make some handsome profits for yourself.

How I wish I have these skills and creativity?

Beautiful scenery

Have you ever being to a picturesque country side and then you find fishes swimming in the air?



A small country path

To find out more, visit my other blog at World of Pots, post entitled Country Road Take Me Home.
Thanks.


A stone carving master

Ni Tongfang, a grandmaster in stone carving, is famous for producing master pieces in  qintian stone carvings. His famous masterpiece, Moon and Flowers, was declared national treasure and featured in a stamp issued in 1992. The moon is actually 2 cm thick and comprised of the finest qintian stone that is flawless. The rest of the stone is carved into leaves, branches, flowers and birds.

He started work in the stone carving factory as a stone cutter at the age of 30 earning 28 RMB (dollars) a month. As he was fascinated with the art of stone carvings, he often watched older masters carving the stones. After 3 years as a stone cutter, he asked for a transfer to the stone carving section with a pay of 24 RMB a month ( a pay cut of 4 RMB). As an apprentice, he worked very hard to mater all the skills in the trade from all the masters at the factory. He used to go to the factory very early in the morning and leave very late. As he was humble and diligent, all the masters were willing to transfer their skills to him. Soon he became famous and began to design his own masterpieces.

He treasured all the stones in his possession. He studied them carefully before starting to carve as he did not want to waste this natural resource. He could even wait a few years before carving just to make sure he knew what he wanted. Some stones were so perfect (in shapes) that he left them in their original conditions (without carving them); he just engraved some characters and his name on the stones. He commented that it was better not to change the stones' natural beauty.

Later he started his own show-room where he exhibited all his works. He name this place Shi Si Zai (place where stones are treasured). People often offer him great prices yet he refuses to part with his works. You can imagine who he treasures all the stone cravings he designed and created.

Here is a collection of some of his works on display in his show-room.

 

 

Looking at these marvelous carvings, I instantly fall I love with the traditional stone carvings. Don't you have the same craze over these art pieces? However, these masterpieces are often beyond the reach of ordinary collectors.

One renown collector commented that a grandmaster once asked for a deposit of 1.2 million RMB before he even started work. He would normally spent a few months just looking at the stone for inspiration. Once he got an idea, he would then take a couple of months to complete his masterpiece. Then he would tell you how much he would charge you for his creation. Don't forget, very good raw material may cost you  a few millions in RMB. This is what a investors in fine stone carvings are prepared to pay to acquired fine pieces for their collection. Just like the masterpiece shown below. 

Ordinary stone turned into a spectacular work of art

Blue and white

Fancy drinking Chinese tea from the world's most expensive tea cup?

Antique collectors all over the world know this cup, its history and rarity. It is known as the Chenhua chicken-cup made during the Chenhua era of the Song dynasty. It is rare as they are less than ten pieces in the world today and most of them are in museums.

A song dynasty Chenhua chicken cup

This Chenhua chicken-cup from the Song dynasty was recently auctioned in HK for a record 45 million Sing dollars. A similar cup was auctioned in HK in the 90s for over 4 million HK$. A well known antique collector in China once told the press that he was served Chinese tea with this cup when he visited a Japanese tycoon who had previously acquired the cup in an auction. He said the reason why he was served tea with this cup as the Japanese held high regards for him as he knew the significance and the historical background of this chenhua cup (he truly appreciates antiques of such quality). What a way to entertain a visiting guest.

Blue and white porcelains have its origin from the Yuan dynasty. The Yuan dynasty blue and white porcelains are very rare and there are only around 30 odd pieces in the world today, again mainly in museums. One of such blue and white jar from the Yuan dynasty was auction for over 230 millions RMB. The reasons for such a high value in these antiques: they have to be genuine, rare and in excellent conditions.


230 million RMB for this Yuan dynasty jar

Recently there is a craze to use blue and white pots and cups for tea brewing and drinking. Most of these porcelains are made in Jingdezeng following traditional methods. The porcelain pieces are specially crafted and hand-painted by professionals who spend long time to perfect the art of creating such porcelain pieces. They know that the customers are no longer happy to use those cheap mass produced pieces where the art work is printed on them. The blue and white pieces as produced by these young professionals are exquisitely created and hand-made to the highest quality. The art work is vivid and lively, and ideal for tea appreciation.

 

Although they are not antiques, these blue and white pieces are not cheap either. Some of the unique pieces are put for local auction. Prices range from several thousands to tens of thousands. One of the blue and whit tea cup was sold for 2 thousand RMB.

This small cup was auctioned for 2k RMB

New porcelain pieces are being put up for auction

The most fantastic blue and white porcelains are the under-glazed ones which are not easy to produced as the kiln temperature has to be accurately controlled. Well-fired under-glazed pieces are quite costly due to the high cost incurred.

 

If you want to own a few chenhua chicken cups and are not willing to pay millions for them, you can also order such cups made in the highest quality and they cost a fraction of the value people paid in auction. They may not be 600 years old, but the design and glaze are by no way inferior to the original cup. If you such cups to appreciate your favourite tea, I am sure the experience is truly remarkable. I have already acquired these cups for my tea drinking appreciation.

Chenhua chicken-cup

Chenhua chicken-cup

They do look like the genuine chenhua chicken-cups

The blue and white porcelain pots and cups are glazed internally and externally. Unlike Yixing ware where the clay is porous and can trap tea fragrance, the porcelain ware does not trap tea fragrance over the years of usage. So you do not have to use one pot for one type of tea. That can be tremendous saving if you drink different types of tea.

So why not invest in some good blue and white or under-glazed ware for your tea brewing and appreciation. There are a lot of different varieties in terms of art work and type of glaze. You will a hard time selecting the one that best suit your taste.