Tag: Xianyu

Five tigers Chinese inside-painted glass ball

Item description / significance
This is an inside-painted (inner-painted, reverse painted) glass ball depicting five tigers.

Bought where
in China on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app (from a seller in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, northern China)

Age and origin
Painted in 1992, according to the inscription, probably Hengshui, Hebei Province, in northern China

What I like about it
The facial expression of the tiger looking at the viewer is what sold me! I also like the fact that there are five tigers, and one is white. And of course, the quality of the painting (the level of detail) is high.

See below for photos of this sphere, including photos from the seller.

Continue reading Five tigers Chinese inside-painted glass ball

Journey to the West Chinese inside-painted glass ball

Item description / significance
This is an inner painted (inside painted, reverse painted) glass ball depicting the character of Monkey from the beloved Chinese classic Journey to the West. It is an adaptation of one of the “Havoc in Heaven” series of 8 paintings by Liu Jiyou. In this painting, Monkey has escaped from a furnace.

Bought where
in China on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app (from a seller in Nanjing, Jiangsu, eastern China)

Age and origin
Painted in 1996, according to the inscription, probably Hengshui, Hebei Province, in northern China

What I like about it
What attracted me is the quality of the painting (the level of detail)—and the low price, to be honest! Now that I am more familiar with the Liu Jiyou paintings, I like it more than I did originally.

Other notes
The seller also sent a tassel with an inside-painted hulu gourd on a tassel:

See below for information about the inscription and the painting this adaptation was based on, as well as photos of the sphere, including photos from the seller.

Continue reading Journey to the West Chinese inside-painted glass ball

12 Chinese zodiac animals inside-painted glass ball

Item description / significance
This is an inside-painted (inner-painted, reverse painted) glass ball depicting the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig).

Bought where
in China on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app (from a seller in Yingkou, Liaoning, northeast China)

Age and origin
Painted in 1996, according to the inscription, probably Hengshui, Hebei Province, in northern China

What I like about it
What attracted me is that the quality of the painting (the level of detail) is high, and the fact that the subject matter is the 12 zodiac animals. Many inside-painted balls are similar to each other (there are lots depicting the Qingming festival, for example), but this is one of only two I have ever found of the zodiac animals, and the other one is not, shall we say, an attractive quality level. (See for yourself.)

See below for information about the inscription, the Chinese characters that accompany the animals, and photos of this sphere, including photos from the seller.

Continue reading 12 Chinese zodiac animals inside-painted glass ball

Big Qingming Festival Chinese inside-painted glass ball

Item description / significance
This is an inside-painted (inner-painted, reverse painted) glass ball depicting an adaptation of the Song dynasty handscroll painting “Along the River During the Qingming Festival.”

Bought where
in China on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app (from a seller in Beijing)

Age and origin
Painted in 2000, according to the inscription, probably in Hengshui, Hebei Province, in northern China

What I like about it
What attracted me is that the quality of the painting (the level of detail) is high. Also, the seller discounted the price, haha. But, get this: I have another inside-painted glass ball depicting this same scroll, and it was painted by the same guy!!! This one was painted 8 years later, has more detail, and (I think) is bigger.

See below for more photos of this sphere and the other one I bought before, photos from the seller, and photos of other spherical renditions of this painting.

Continue reading Big Qingming Festival Chinese inside-painted glass ball

Two wood bears

Item description / significance
These are two small painted carved wooden bears, one white, one black.

Both were described as hand-carved, but I’m a little suspicious about that. The listing for the white bear said it’s made from beechwood.

Bought where
in China on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app

Age and origin
New!

What I like about them
The lifelike poses. I’m not an expert on bears, and these are a little abstract, but they still seem to contain an accurate kind of bear spirit somehow. These bears seem friendly and curious. (I would not approach a “friendly and curious” bear in real life!)

Other notes

So apparently now I have a collection of 3 wooden bears, including the Japanese bear I bought in Longquan, Zhejiang, China.

See below for more photos of these two, including photos from the sellers.

Continue reading Two wood bears

Balinese wood dragon #3

Item description / significance
This is a winged dragon carved from wood, made in Indonesia. Size: Height 22 cm x Depth 19 cm x Width 12 cm. Attached paper price tag says Rp 275,000 (~US$17). No damage.

Bought where
in China on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app

(Want one? Novica sells Balinese wood dragons.)

Age and origin
age unknown, made in Bali, Indonesia

What I like about it
It’s a dragon! With wings! The detail is good.

Other notes
This is actually the third second-hand Balinese wooden dragon I’ve bought! I found the other two in Singapore on the second-hand marketplace app Carousell. They’re a little bigger.

» See Dave the dragon

» See Karen the dragon

See below for photos of Dave and Karen’s little sister, including photos from the Xianyu seller. Continue reading Balinese wood dragon #3

Gray ceramic donkey

Item description / significance
The seller labeled this as a horse, one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, but this is obviously a donkey. Approx. 13 cm tall, 24 cm long.

I say “obviously”, but why, exactly? Upon consideration, I can say: It’s a donkey first and foremost because the ears are long. Moreover, the face is short, and the tail is rope-like, like a lion’s tail. Also, there’s not much mane, and although many donkeys are brown, gray is possibly the most typical donkey color. I rest my case.

I have named him Eyeore, because he seems a bit downcast.

Bought where
on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app

Age and origin
like new, age and origin unknown

What I like about it

The realism. He looks like he could get up and walk away, but doesn’t want to. His form and coloring are natural. He isn’t cartoony or cutesey or anthropomorphized. He isn’t decorated with colorful abstract patterns.

The lack of accessories. He’s not wearing a halter, saddle, or saddlebags. He’s not pulling a cart. He’s at rest. Perhaps he belongs in a nativity scene…

See below for something surprising I learned, plus photos from the seller.

Continue reading Gray ceramic donkey

Japanese cast iron rabbit

Item description / significance
This is a small Japanese cast iron rabbit. The rabbit is one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. It was the zodiac animal of the year 2023.

Bought where
on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app

Age and origin
new, Japanese

What I like about it

It’s a rabbit. I like all the Chinese zodiac animals… but some animals are more equal than others. In this case, the rabbits come out on top, not the pigs!

The material. Small cast iron objects are satisfyingly dense. There’s a typical “seam” around the middle, a result of the casting process, that gives the object a symmetrical front and back.

The shape and texture. Unlike porcelain, cast iron doesn’t really permit fine detail. The surface is coated with something smooth, but it’s rough underneath.

The color. Something has been added to the surface that sticks in the cracks more than to the other parts of the surface. This highlights the shape of the rabbit more than a uniform dark black would. This bronze green color is typical, but I’ve also seen white/grey, brown, blue, red, and yellow.

See below for information on Japanese cast iron and more photos.

Continue reading Japanese cast iron rabbit

Purple and white crystal tower

Item description / significance
This is a polished stone tower/obelisk/point. Dimensions: 20.5 cm x 4.5 cm x 3.41 cm. Weight 700 g. The seller labeled it as fluorite; I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty sure it’s agate.

Bought where
on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app

Age and origin
new

What I like about it

The color. Maybe the purple color has been added, but unlike other dyed stones I’ve seen, the purple color has the quality of natural amethyst and doesn’t look tacky. There’s a possibility the stone actually *is* natural amethyst with agate; these minerals do sometimes form together, and that would certainly explain why the purple doesn’t look like purple dye to me. If that’s what this is, this is a real treasure. But in any case, it looks great!

The texture. The white part of the tower has the translucency of milky jelly. Never seen anything like it. So satisfying!

The size. A lot of crystal towers are the size of a finger. This one has a satisfying bulk. Large surfaces permit better appreciation of color and texture.

The metaphysical properties. Just kidding! I don’t believe rocks and minerals “do” anything, except maybe give me a small dopamine boost when I look at them—which is what any decor object does. I wish more crystal websites talked about the scientific properties of crystals instead of the imaginary ones. [Sigh.]

See below for photos from the seller.

Continue reading Purple and white crystal tower

Japanese green glaze dragon

Item description / significance
This is an abstract ceramic dragon with dark green glaze. The dragon is one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. It was the zodiac animal of the year 2024.

Bought where
on Xianyu (Chinese second-hand marketplace app)

Age and origin
Unknown age. Likely Japanese. The seller provided no information, but many of the seller’s other items are from Japan. Also, two similar dragons on Xianyu (one unglazed dark brown and one celadon) are listed as being from Japan. There’s a lot of cool stuff from Japan on Xianyu (including bears like this one).

What I like about it

The color. I like saturated colors, so this deep green is appealing. It’s the same deep green as some Chinese shiwan ceramics, like this rectangular pillow. Green is the color theme in my living room (at least in theory).

The style. Normally I like very realistic looking animals, and this one is not. But there’s something about the minimalist geometry here that I find appealing. Maybe it’s the semicircular snake bends in his body that contrast with the regular square scales.

See below for photos from the seller.

Continue reading Japanese green glaze dragon