From: Yuncheng Urban Collective Industrial Association
Issue Time: 2020-05-15 10:26
Cloud carving, also known as rhinoceros carving, is a kind of ancient Chinese lacquer carving process, whose patterns are mostly composed of clouds, so the lacquer industry calls it “cloud carving”. Cloud carving originated in the Tang Dynasty and has been developed through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, becoming a valuable type of Chinese lacquerware cultural heritage. Because of its complicated technology, difficult production, long production cycle and high cost, it was mainly used by the royal court, but very rare among the people. In the late Qing Dynasty, it was among the people. The “Painting Record” writes: there are vermilion, black, transparent purple, or red with black, or carved points and other complex, or three colors overlapping. Carving rhinoceros to heavy circles, back to the pattern, cloud hooks and other patterns, Shanxi area called its cloud carving. Cloud carving originated in the Tang Dynasty, qualitative in the Yuan and Ming. Cloud carving works of the late Qing Dynasty are relatively rare. The good cloud carving works are fine and elegant, vividly decorated, layered, lustrous and warm. In China, it was the exclusive possession of the upper class and the aristocracy, and the National Palace Museum has a cloud carved rhinoceros plate from the Yuan Dynasty, a sunflower plate from the Ming Dynasty, and a rhinoceros vase on porcelain from the Qing Dynasty.
In the course of nearly 30 years of development, the company has gathered folk artists engaged in the production of cloud carving and lacquerware to inherit the ancient craft of cloud carving; painstakingly visited national lacquer masters to create a new art of cloud carving; and sincerely cooperated with Beijing Golden Lacquer Mosaic Co. At present, the traditional lacquer cloud carving lacquerware of Xinjiang has embarked on the road of fine scale development, and further developed and innovated the craft of “cloud carving” on the basis of inheritance. Nowadays, we have developed a variety of products such as high-grade cloud carving furniture series, gift series, and four treasures series, which have kept pace with the times in terms of shape and color, so that the lacquerware craft with traditional craft characteristics of cloud carving has been inherited and developed, and entered the list of national intangible cultural heritage.
Datang Cloud Carving Lacquer Art Factory is currently the largest enterprise using traditional lacquer craft to make cloud carvings, with the exclusive secret recipe of lacquer boiling, unique skills of cloud carving production, leading creation of cloud carving design, occupying an important position in the cloud carving industry. The enterprise has maintained long-term cooperation and development links with art colleges and experts and professors such as Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, and has also undertaken practical training for young artists of the academy base, and has gained great support from domestic art colleges in product design.
The method of Datang’s making cloud carvings uses two kinds of lacquer: vermilion and black. One color of lacquer is first applied to the bones in several coats to build up a certain thickness, and then the other color of lacquer is used in several coats. In this way, the two colors of lacquer are applied alternately, reaching a cumulative thickness of 3-5 mm. Before the above lacquer layer is completely dry, the pattern is carved with a knife, and the red and black lacquer layers are revealed in the cross section of the knife. Each process is purely handmade, and it takes several months to complete a piece. The best pieces even take a year or two to complete.
In recent years, Datang Cloud Carving Lacquer Art Factory has won many honors: in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, it’s the production unit of “sun and moon together”, large-scale lacquer art treasures, cloud carving big lacquer ball, which has auspicious patterns of heaven and earth, cloud flying & swallow dancing, water & swimming fish, and other auspicious patterns, symbolizing auspiciousness, peace and prosperity, harmony between heaven and earth, rich and long-lasting years; in March 2010, the cloud carving “Drum” won the gold medal of 2010 “Golden Phoenix” Innovative Product Design Grand Prix at the 45th National Arts and Crafts Fair; in April 2011, the company was elected as a member of the second Lacquerware Professional Committee of China Arts and Crafts Association; in October 2011, two pieces of works “Fruits of Midsummer”, “Dancing with the Waves” were selected to Chinese lacquer painting art exhibition; in October 2011, the large lacquer vase “Three Friends of the Cold Winter” won the gold medal of “2011 Intelligent Craftsman’s Art Garden · Baihua Cup” at the 12th China Arts and Crafts Masterpiece and International Fine Arts Exposition; in February 2012, a large rhinoceros vase (harmonious and auspicious pattern) was designed and produced for the Great Hall of the People; in October 2012, the rhinoceros rolled-up tea table was awarded the gold medal of “2012 Baihua Cup” at the Chinese Arts and Crafts Master Boutique Expo; in July 2013, the cloud carving lacquer tea table “Harmony” won the gold medal of the first Shanxi Cultural Fair; in March 2014, the rhinoceros Guqin box won the gold medal at the 49th National Arts and Crafts Fair in the 2014 “Golden Phoenix” innovative product design competition; in May 2014, the lacquer tea table “Lotus” won the Gold Medal of Chinese Arts and Crafts Cultural Creativity in Shenzhen Cultural Fair; in March 2015, the cloud carving lacquerware “Tea Sea” won the gold medal of 2015 “Golden Phoenix” Innovative Product Design Competition; in March 2016, the cloud carving work “Auspicious Three Treasures” won the gold medal of 2016 “Golden Phoenix” Innovative product Design Competition; in March 2017, the cloud carving drum table won the gold medal of the 52nd 2017 “Golden Phoenix” Innovative Product Design Competition; in August 2017, the cloud carving teahouse set series won the special gold medal of arts and crafts in the “Intelligent Craftsman Cup” of the third Shanxi Cultural Expo; in 2018, the cloud carving teahouse set series No. 2 won the silver medal of the 19th Chinese Arts and Crafts Master Works, that is, the 2018 “Baihua Cup” of China Arts and Crafts Excellence Award; in March 2019, the cloud carving “Tea Table with Lotus Pattern” won the gold medal of “Golden Phoenix” Innovative Works Design Competition in the 54th National Handicraft Fair.
In 2019, Datang Cloud Carving Lacquer Art Factory planned to develop more than 200 pieces of innovative cloud carving and lacquerware including reproducing more than 100 pieces of cloud carving and lacquerware from past generations, and developing innovatively more than 100 pieces of cloud carving study sets, tea room sets, cloud carving vases on copper, and cloud carving vases, with masters of domestic lacquer art, universities and cooperative enterprises. At present, the production and sales of cloud carving lacquerware has significant economic and social benefits, and can reach a certain scale, which will lead to the training of more cultural art inheritors, and have great significance to the protection of traditional national skills and the development of special industries.
