The Inheritance Significance of Bamboo Carving

A unique craft in ancient China was pushed to the market because of the love and use of literati. Literati did not aim at the market at first, but for their own appreciation and play. However, literati is a benchmark of society. Because of the promotion of literati, they have the pursuit of society and entered the market. In terms of subject matter, regardless of landscape figures, flowers, birds, fish and insects, most of them entrusted the feelings of literati. Literati pay attention to artistic conception, so many artistic conceptions of bamboo carving are very similar to those of Chinese painting. Due to the success of bamboo carving art, the carving of precious materials such as ivory, rhinoceros horn, rosewood and boxwood has had a far-reaching impact, and these materials tend to imitate bamboo utensils.

Due to its limitations, the number of bamboo carvings, especially fine works, is far less than that of calligraphy and painting, so its collection value is quite high. In Beijing Museum, Taipei Palace Museum and Shanghai Museum, there are representative collections of bamboo carvings in Ming and Qing Dynasties. After 1980s, the Ming and Qing bamboo carvings became a collection craze in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas markets, and their market development affected the collection market in Chinese mainland. After bamboo carving art entered the market, large-scale auctions at home and abroad repeatedly set the highest record for bamboo carving art auctions.

Although bamboo carvings are a small category of miscellaneous items, the overall auction transaction rate is very high. According to the data, from 1994 to September 2004, there were about 700 bamboo carvings with verifiable data, with a total turnover of more than 30 million yuan, with a turnover rate of 47%. In the autumn of 2003, China Guardian sold 14 pieces of bamboo carving in the special auction of "Wang He and Yuan Quanyou Collected China Art", of which more than half of the lots were the highest in the history of bamboo carving auction in recent ten years. For example, Zhu Zhugen's sculpture "The Old Monk" in the Ming Dynasty sold for 2.64 million yuan.

Although bamboo carvings are small, they are often finely crafted. Traditional bamboo carving techniques include through carving, relief carving and round carving. Creators should not only have a good knowledge of painting and calligraphy, but also practice knife skills, which requires extremely high comprehensive quality. Especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, famous artists came forth in large numbers with unique styles. Therefore, for later collectors, the bamboo carvings from the late Ming Dynasty to the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty are the most precious.