The tale of the Peach Blossom Spring is often painted. There is a handscroll in the Bristh Museum, and here is a walk through a handscroll from the Wou Lien-Pai Museum of Chinese Art, courtesy of Roderick Whitfield: Peach Blossom Spring.ppt
Some of you might remember Xu Bing’s installation at the V&A in 2013: Travelling to the Wonderland was inspired by the Peach Blossom Spring.
A glimpse of flowering quince and a Japanese lantern.
A few more Chinese blossoms.
Lovely slow-motion apricot flowers opening.
The “four friends of the flowers” are the swallow; oriole; bee and butterfly.
More lovely blooms from members’ gardens – camellias, tulips, plum blossom and magnolia – and a spring garland!
Inspired by a visit to the Chinese porcelain centre of Jingdezhen, CBPS member Zara created these ceramic “scholar rocks.” Scholar rocks (gongshi) were intriguing or fantastically-shaped stones, used focus for meditation of religious or philosophic principles and for contemplation prior to writing poems or painting.
January 25th starts Chinese New Year for the Year of the Metal Rat. The Spring Festival lasts until 4 February, though celebrations usually continue until the Lantern Festival on 8th February.
The Rat is the first animal of the Chinese Zodiac, having won the Jade Emperor’s race. There are different versions of this story, including what happened to the cat!
Apparently, the Rat represents diligence, kindness, and generosity, and the Metal Rat Year is going to be a strong, prosperous, and lucky year for most Chinese zodiac signs.
CBPS Member Nick W is a ceramicist. Last year he attended Life Drawing the Chinese Way by CBPS Honorary President Qu Leilei. Nick painted the nudes swiftly with a paste of cobalt oxide and water, then later glazed and fired them to fix the paintings and finish the pots.
Cobalt blue is an important ingredient for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain.
Christie’s has, of course, a lot of expertise in art of all kinds, including Chinese. This includes: