Boxwood Carving: Identification Methods and Maintenance Tips
Boxwood carving is one of the folk carving arts of the Han Chinese, using boxwood as the carving material, drawing on its natural forms with smooth wood, delicate grain and dignified color; the process is complex, and the fineness and technical requirements of each step are difficult for other carvings to match, nor can they be replaced by modern technology. Let us take a look together at the identification methods and maintenance methods for boxwood carvings!
Identification of Boxwood Carvings
1. Material: Boxwood is a precious evergreen shrub, takes a long time to mature, and its resources are becoming increasingly scarce. A root material 20 centimeters in diameter takes 500 years to grow. If you see large boxwood carving works on the market, you must be careful; many unscrupulous merchants use water boxwood as a substitute.
2. Carving skill: When identifying, look at whether the carving is exquisite. Arts and crafts stress unique ingenuity. Boxwood carving should be skillfully carved according to the material's own unique natural shape or grain direction, with seven parts natural and three parts carved. In addition, if it is the work of a famous artist, this kind of boxwood carving work that blends ingeniously with nature has greater collectible value than others.
3. Color: Boxwood carvings naturally change color during storage, and the color gradually deepens year by year. Experienced collectors can roughly judge the age of a work based on the depth of color and the patina.
Maintenance of Boxwood Carvings
1. Boxwood carvings should not be exposed to high temperatures or direct sun. Like all wood carving crafts, boxwood carvings should not be placed in a high-temperature environment; exposure to the sun will damage the boxwood wood, making it brittle and hard, and it will easily crack later. In particular, they must not be placed on a balcony; if placed by a window, it is best to put them in a shaded place beside the curtains. Indoors, they should be kept in a moist environment to prevent drying and cracking. At the same time, boxwood carvings should not be placed near open flames, fire walls, heated kang beds, stoves, and the like.
2. Wood products are most afraid of water. When storing boxwood carvings in ordinary times, pay attention to controlling appropriate humidity, and never let boxwood carvings remain in a damp environment for a long time. If kept in a damp environment for a long time, boxwood carvings are extremely prone to growing “mold”; a large amount of mildew will appear on their surface, and over time, boxwood carvings will very easily rot. If mildew appears on a boxwood carving, you can polish it with fine sandpaper and then apply clear lacquer for protection.
3. Boxwood carvings will inevitably collect dust after being placed for a long time. For boxwood carvings that have not been treated with lacquer, simply use a soft brush to sweep away surface dust; for boxwood carvings whose surface has been lacquered, you can wipe them with a slightly damp pure cotton towel. If you feel the surface luster of the boxwood carving is insufficient, you can dip a towel in some walnut oil and wipe it, which can add some gloss.
4. In too dry an environment, boxwood carvings may show cracking. Modern living standards have improved, and every household has an air conditioner, especially in the north, where it is used for most of the year. Therefore, be careful not to let boxwood carvings be directly blown by the air conditioner outlet, lest they be air-dried and crack, and do not place them near heating pipes.
5. Do not wipe boxwood carvings with a towel carrying water; instead, use a pure cotton towel containing wax or oil. If you often wipe with a wet cloth, not only will it fail to achieve the expected effect, but over time the moisture will penetrate into the boxwood carving and damage the quality of the wood carving. Therefore, when cleaning, you can use a dry cotton cloth or a feather duster to dust off the wood carving crafts.
6. Sometimes, unintentionally, or under the effect of some external force, some cracks appear in a boxwood carving. In this case, do not worry too much. We can use a toothpick dipped in a little strong glue and apply it into the cracks, then press firmly with the hand; after a period of time those cracks can basically be repaired. But to avoid such situations, in ordinary times we should pay more attention and try not to let it lose its original charm.
Auctions of Boxwood Carvings
1. In December 2007, a boxwood arhat from the Republic of China period was sold at auction for 1.45 million yuan.
2. In June 2011, a Qing Dynasty redwood shrine inlaid with boxwood sold at auction for 1.8 million.
3. In December 2012, a Qing Dynasty boxwood rose chair with dragon-head patterns sold for 1.38 million.
4. In December 2012, a Qianlong-period Qing Dynasty zitan piece inlaid with silver wire and boxwood sold at auction for 1.55 million.
5. In October 2013, a large boxwood root-nodule brush from the late Ming and early Qing period sold at auction for 1.8 million.
6. In December 2013, a Qing Dynasty Wu Zhifan boxwood brush pot was sold at auction for 1.6 million.
7. In March 2014, an inscribed boxwood piece by Wu Zhifan from the early Qing period sold at auction for 1.5 million.
8. In June 2014, a late Qing Dynasty boxwood figure brush pot sold at auction for 1.4 million.
9. In June 2014, a late Qing Dynasty boxwood Fu Lu Shou piece was sold for 1.45 million yuan.
Master Boxwood Carvers
1. Zhu Zichang: The famous Wenzhou folk carving master Zhu Zichang (1876-1934) inherited traditional sculpture techniques, combined them with the characteristics of boxwood, and used unique methods to create many excellent works, greatly promoting the development of boxwood carving. His works “Hide and Seek”, “Five Sons Pleasing Amitabha”, and “Cloth-Bag Monk” are all famous works with vivid images, rich expressions, and exquisite antiquity. In 1909, his work “Monk Jidian” participated in the Nanyang Industrial Exposition and won an award of excellence. Later generations praised his works as having round and fluent knife work, light and transparent clothing lines, lifelike modeling, and fresh and elegant figures.
2. Wang Fengzuo: The famous Yueqing boxwood carving master Wang Fengzuo (1905-1993) was among the first batch of folk artists of Zhejiang Province. In the 1950s he was very renowned among his peers. He became an apprentice at age thirteen, and four years later created the table screen “Drinking at Yellow Crane Tower”, first showing his talent. Later he became an assistant to the Buddha statue sculptor Huang Chongshou and benefited greatly. His “Arhat Picking His Ear” was as tall as a real person, with a crooked mouth, one eye open and one eye closed, and a vivid expression. He also “stole” skills from Zhu Zichang, and his works could be mistaken for the real thing. After liberation, his works “Su Wu Herding Sheep” and “The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl” were exhibited at the East China Five Provinces and Municipalities Folk Art Exhibition, winning Chen Yi's appreciation and praise from the art world, and won first prize. They were later sent for exhibition in the then Soviet Union; “Pravda” and “Literature and Art News” both introduced “Su Wu Herding Sheep”, and it was collected by the Leningrad Museum.
3. Ye Runzhou: Ye Runzhou (1918-1996) was the fourth-generation successor of Ye Chengrong of Yueqing. His father, Ye Furu, won an award of excellence at the 1929 West Lake Exposition for the boxwood carving work “Cowherd Riding a Buffalo”. Ye Runzhou studied the craft with his father from childhood. In more than 50 years he created more than 200 boxwood carvings, among which “Transformed Universal Joy” won first prize in the China Arts and Crafts “Hundred Flowers Award”. Others such as “Qu Yuan”, “Immortals Dancing in Celebration of the Human World”, and “Zhong Kui Suppressing Evil” were all treasured by relevant state institutions for their exquisite technique and vivid imagery. His works have also been purchased and collected by collectors at home and abroad.
4. Wang Duchun: Born in 1932, representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project “Yueqing Boxwood Carving”, Chinese Arts and Crafts Master, among the first batch of folk artists of Zhejiang Province, and among the first batch of outstanding folk literature and art talents of Zhejiang Province.
5. Zheng Shengning: Zheng Shengning was born in 1943 in Xiangyang Town, Yueqing City, Wenzhou, Zhejiang. He is a Chinese Root Art Master, Chinese Wood Carving Art Master, Zhejiang Arts and Crafts Master, outstanding folk literature and art talent of Zhejiang Province, senior arts and crafts artist, guest professor at Zhejiang Tourism Vocational and Technical College, and honorary chairman of the Zhejiang Root Art Fine Arts Society. He is skilled in boxwood carving, root carving, and urban sculpture. His works have won national gold awards many times. Representative works include “Laozi”, “Joyful Grassland”, “Master Hongyi”, “Shoe Repairing Across the World”, “Lu Xun”, and “Fish-Basket Guanyin”.
6. Wang Dufang: Member of the China Arts and Crafts Society Wang Dufang was born in 1947 and studied under Professor Zheng Ke, and is skilled in figure carving. He is a Chinese Arts and Crafts Master, Chinese Root Art Master, and folk artist of Zhejiang Province. After graduating from the Special Arts Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, he ran the Fenglin Wood Carving Factory himself, and successively created works such as “Li Bai” and “Thousand-Hand Guanyin” for the Li Bai Memorial Hall in Jiangyou County, Sichuan, and the Guanyin Cave in Yandang Mountain, gaining fame in China.
7. Yu Jinshun: In Yueqing there are also a pair of Yu brothers, Chinese Arts and Crafts Masters and outstanding folk literature and art talents of Zhejiang Province. The elder, Jinshun, was born in 1949 and is skilled in figure modeling in traditional carving materials, especially in carving the round, harmonious, smiling Cloth-Bag Monk. His works “Laughing Buddha” and “Ten Great Joys” are lively and full of humor. The younger, Dingliang, was born in 1950 and served as director of the Boxwood Carving Factory. His specialty is carving animals, and he is especially known for “ox works”. His works “Bullfight” and “The Earth” capture the ox's fighting stance and the beauty of ox strength; the knife work draws on landscape painting, carving the folds of the ox's body and highlighting the ox's power, praising the pioneers of the era with the spirit of the pioneering ox.
8. Mou Xiangbo: Born in 1969, main inheritor of Yueqing boxwood carving, Chinese Wood Carving Art Master, Zhejiang Arts and Crafts Master, outstanding folk literature and art talent of Zhejiang Province, and senior arts and crafts artist.
9. Zheng Fangyang: Born in 1972, main inheritor of Yueqing boxwood carving, national rural youth folk craft master, folk artist of Zhejiang Province, outstanding folk literature and art talent of Zhejiang Province, and a wood carving art master favored by Chinese collectors in 2006.