Chinese cork carving / sculpture / picture – hand carved, black lacquer frame (#212)

Cork carving, while popular for its sheer beauty and mind boggling intricacy, is a reflection of philosphy and folklore. Most cork sculptures are pastoral scenes that incorporate trees, buildings and wildlife. In fact the importance of such landscape scenery in Chinese arts has its roots in Taoism, and the balance of heaven and earth. Mountains are rendered fading into the heavens to seemingly become one with each other. Elements of humanity, such as a house, a boat, or a bridge are peppered throughout the landscape. Thus earth, heaven and mankind are brought together in a single "path", or "way". The delicate art of cork carving epitomizes Taoist thought by utilizing the natural coarseness of cork to represent jagged mountain scenes. Yet the same material is used to create the smooth finely carved elements of buildings and trees. It is at once both crude and delicate, ying and yang together; it is whole in a very Taoist sense. Also in our cork carvings are the specific symbols of the crane and the pine tree. Both have long been held in chinese folklore as symbols of longevity. These fine cork carvings can be appreciated for their sheer quality of workmanship, but also for the centuries of history and culture behind their creation.

Please note that cork carvings are extremely delicate. They have already endured the trip from the workshop where they were created in China to our warehouse in the USA. We take every precaution in packing and shipping these intricate items, however on occasion some small pieces of the scenery may dislodge during transit. We hope you will understand that this should be considered inevitable under the circumstances. Small pieces are easily removed from the enclosure and their absence will not detract from the overall artistry of this fragile craft.