Looking to carve out a glorious reputation
By Guan Wenfei and Hu Xiaocen |
June 25, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE future of bamboo carving is at a crossroads in Jiading District.
Artists are not sure whether it's better to make the bamboo carving more popular and produce more works, or keep the handicraft more sophisticated and produce less works only for collection. Nevertheless, the past few years have shown that bamboo handicrafts have large potential to appreciate in value.
Bamboo carving artist Zhang Weizhong sold one of his pieces for nearly 200,000 yuan (US$31,448) last year at an auction in Beijing. It takes Zhang at least a month to finish a piece, thus only a handful of his works are available. He now has an agreement with the auction house to auction one or two pieces each year. Zhang also accepts orders from collectors.
He says fellow artists are also in demand. Their carvings are mostly ordered by companies, which give them to clients as gifts.
About a dozen Jiading artists have a similar business model.
However, Wang Wei sells carvings at his workshop mostly as souvenirs. Most of these pieces are made by his disciples. Collectors need to knock on Wang's door if they want to purchase one of his own works. During the last two years, the workshop only produced 204 handicrafts, while all workshops in Jiading made a combined 900 pieces.
Six years ago, a bamboo carving that Wang priced at 3,000 yuan or less is now worth more than 100,000 yuan. Wang said since Jiading bamboo carving became an intangible cultural heritage four years ago, the price of his works has surged. And he believes there's plenty of room for prices to rise further due to the growing influence of the art form.
Amid the rising value of bamboo carvings, some worry about problems such as low production, talent preservation and market exploration. General Secretary of Jiading Bamboo Carving Association Yang Fuying said the association has launched a training course that attracted art teachers and even artists from other provinces. It seeks to teach people how to develop and sustain their bamboo carving business.
Artists are not sure whether it's better to make the bamboo carving more popular and produce more works, or keep the handicraft more sophisticated and produce less works only for collection. Nevertheless, the past few years have shown that bamboo handicrafts have large potential to appreciate in value.
Bamboo carving artist Zhang Weizhong sold one of his pieces for nearly 200,000 yuan (US$31,448) last year at an auction in Beijing. It takes Zhang at least a month to finish a piece, thus only a handful of his works are available. He now has an agreement with the auction house to auction one or two pieces each year. Zhang also accepts orders from collectors.
He says fellow artists are also in demand. Their carvings are mostly ordered by companies, which give them to clients as gifts.
About a dozen Jiading artists have a similar business model.
However, Wang Wei sells carvings at his workshop mostly as souvenirs. Most of these pieces are made by his disciples. Collectors need to knock on Wang's door if they want to purchase one of his own works. During the last two years, the workshop only produced 204 handicrafts, while all workshops in Jiading made a combined 900 pieces.
Six years ago, a bamboo carving that Wang priced at 3,000 yuan or less is now worth more than 100,000 yuan. Wang said since Jiading bamboo carving became an intangible cultural heritage four years ago, the price of his works has surged. And he believes there's plenty of room for prices to rise further due to the growing influence of the art form.
Amid the rising value of bamboo carvings, some worry about problems such as low production, talent preservation and market exploration. General Secretary of Jiading Bamboo Carving Association Yang Fuying said the association has launched a training course that attracted art teachers and even artists from other provinces. It seeks to teach people how to develop and sustain their bamboo carving business.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
