Boxwood Carving

Boxwood Carving

　　Boxwood Carving

　　This is a form of round sculpture art.

　　It utilizes the natural characteristics of boxwood — smooth texture, fine grain, and solemn color. The carvings appear milky yellow, and over time, their color deepens from light to dark, giving them an antique and elegant aesthetic. Yongjia County in Wenzhou City is the birthplace of boxwood carving in Zhejiang Province. Along with Dongyang wood carving and Qingtian stone carving, it is known as one of the “Three Treasures of Carving in Zhejiang.”

　　The tools used in wood carving include clay hammers, sculpture stands, clay modeling boxes, as well as calipers, scrapers, and various types of modeling knives. Tools for rough carving include saws, wooden mallets, and iron mallets. The main tools used for carving are chisels...

　　…which come in many varieties and are fully functional, including slanting chisels, triangular chisels,

　　flat chisels, round chisels, medium steel chisels, reverse-mouth chisels, reverse-mouth chisels, claw chisels, needle chisels, as well as hand saws, bamboo awls, and drag drills. The carving process is quite meticulous and involves more than ten steps: sketching the design, making a clay model, selecting the wood, carving the rough form, hollowing out the solid form, refining the details, sanding and polishing, engraving hair textures, waxing and polishing, and assembling with bases, among others.

　　Among these, the openwork carving technique is the most delicate skill in wood carving. It allows the artwork to be ethereal and translucent,

　　exquisitely crafted, elegant, and aesthetically pleasing, while also creating a sense of movement.

　　Ye Runju, a master of Chinese arts and crafts, excels in openwork carving and integrates techniques from related art forms. He especially incorporates methods from ivory carving such as piercing, openwork, scraping, and intersecting hollowing, innovating upon traditional techniques to make

　　his works vivid and distinctive. His pieces balance solidity with void, stillness with motion, offering viewers a sense of realism and intimacy.

　　In the past, wood carvings were mostly used for carving Buddha statues, constructing temples, making dragon lanterns, engraving plaques, and crafting screens and furniture. Through the efforts of artisans over generations, it has now become an art form dedicated to appreciation.