Untitled

Jin Xiya

1945 · Bamboo carved in relief · Asian Art

This wrist rest is an excellent example of bamboo carving by Jin Xiya, the finest bamboo artist active in twentieth-century China. Here, Jin demonstrates his proficiency by combining several carving styles in a single work. The birds and bamboo stand forth in high “green skin” relief, while the garden rock with dots of moss appears in low relief against a ground of vertical striations suggestive of the bamboo’s grain. Similarly, the geese stand on a pathway of smooth paving stones that leads to a wicker gate. A final tour de force of carving is the way the layered feathers and webbed feet of the geese are rendered. One goose’s beak is open with its tongue sticking up as if it were honking loudly—further animating this remarkable scene. According to the archival list of Jin’s works (wrist rest #53), this wrist rest took him forty-two days to complete on January 31, 1945.

Artist

Jin Xiya

Date

1945

Medium

Bamboo carved in relief

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund for Asian Art, 2020