Many foreigners come to China to buy souvenirs of crafts carved from shells, don't they have them in foreign countries?

Many foreigners come to China to buy souvenirs carved with shells. This is because of the different cultural background and craftsmanship. Foreigners like traditional Chinese culture.

Besides China, shell carvings are also found in Italy, Britain and America. During the Renaissance, Italian craftsmen made full use of the potential iridescent colors of the inner layers of shells and carved small medallion brooches and jewels into bas-relief side portraits.At the end of the 19th century, a school of shell and coral carving was established in Naples.

It was also made into interior decorative panels, which were transparent, lightweight, strong and easy to clean. The artistic character of shell carving is based on material, shape, luster and exquisite craftsmanship. The unique spiral shape of natural shells, the texture and color of the inner and outer layers provide a rich artistic expression for shell carving. On the basis of giving full play to the natural beauty, shell carving uses techniques such as relief, round carving, shallow carving, flat paste, inlay, etc., so that the works are vivid and natural, not artificial, but appropriate and intriguing, and achieve perfect artistic effect. For example, on the shell-carved wall screen, the black spiral shell is used to make a lady's hair bun; the latent purple color of the inner layer of the shell is used to make crystal-clear grapes. Chinese shell carvings are mainly produced in Qingdao, Shandong, Dalian, Liaoning, Beihai, Guangxi, Lianyungang, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Hubei. Varieties include wine set, ashtray, buttons, jewelry (necklace, brooch, earrings, etc.), umbrella handles, lamps, clocks, hanging screens, screens, etc. Since 1980, a new polymerization process has been used to grind the shells into 0.5mm flakes, and then the flakes are polymerized and inlaid in furniture and daily necessities as decoration.

The process of making daily necessities is relatively simple. The shells are first soaked in water and cleaned to remove surface impurities, then carved, glued and inlaid. Since the shells are generally thin and their iridescent interior colors are extremely valuable and not easy to get more than one, they have to be handled carefully when hand-carved and polished. Maple leaves and flower petals are made from red conchs and red-billed conchs; flower leaves and shrubs are made from green scallops; insect wings and ladies' silk dresses are made from white transparent pearls night conchs can be made into glazed tiles for palace buildings; moth shells and crimson shells can be made into scarab knots on the trunks of ancient pine trees. In addition, because the hanging screen is hung on the wall, it is required that the image of the Beidou painting is simple, accurate and not cumbersome, so that it not only shows the space and level of the picture, but also can not be stacked too high, so that the thickness of the frame of the hanging screen increases and is too cumbersome.

Shell carving is famous at home and abroad for its novel composition, exquisite craftsmanship, brilliant colors and profound meaning. This craft is one of the most outstanding sculptures of all times.