現代 金西崖刻竹圖竹臂擱|Wrist rest decorated with bamboo

Jin Xiya

1929 · Bamboo with intaglio carving · Asian Art

This wrist rest is an excellent example of bamboo carving by Jin Xiya (1890–1979), the finest bamboo artist active in twentieth-century China. It showcases Jin’s virtuosic command of traditional bamboo carving. His works incorporate compositions from designs contributed by his contemporary artists, such as Araki Jipo (Japanese, 1872–1944) on this piece. Jin’s works not only represent the highest achievement of bamboo carving in early twentieth century China, but they also preserve a microcosm of the literati world of that time, when members of the scholarly elite sought to sustain inherited traditions in the face of a rapidly modernizing world. According to the archival list of Jin’s works (wrist rest #38), the bamboo carving was completed in the winter of 1929.

Artist

Jin Xiya

Date

1929

Medium

Bamboo with intaglio carving

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund for Asian Art, 2020