Chinese Porcelain Carving: A Recreation of Calligraphic Art

The exhibition Revisiting Ancient Chinese Painting and Calligraphy organised by the Groningen Confucius Institute in The Hague in 2018 has elicited great interest and attention among the Dutch public for Chinese Painting, Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese Porcelain Carving. It not only displayed Chinese art in diverse forms, but also created a dialogue between East and West, thus deepening mutual understanding of each other’s culture.

We believe that it is valuable to share the collection of works with our readers, for you can capture the beauty and charm of the artistic creations and draw inspiration from the unfading wisdom of ancient Chinese philosophers.

1. Chinese Porcelain Carving: A Recreation of Calligraphic Art
2. Chinese Painting: A Glimpse of Ancient Life
3. Chinese Porcelain Carving: A Recreation of Calligraphic Art

Collection of Chinese Porcelain Carving Works
Below are four Chinese porcelain carving works engraved by the Chinese artist Hu Antong. With exquisite carving techniques, the engraver recreates the charm of calligraphy on porcelain, and integrates calligraphy and carving into one.

Porcelain Engraver

Hu Antong (1966) born in Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province, studied traditional painting from well-known Chinese national artist and painter Wang Mingzhao, and porcelain engraving from the top artist of porcelain portraits engraving, Ding Banghai. He is highly skilled in engraving on porcelain, wood, stone, gold and jade. His engraving works were demonstrated at national, provincial and municipal professional exhibitions multiple times. In 2017, a collection of his work was exhibited at the First Unique Skills Competition in Zaozhuang, Shangdong Province, and the 2568th anniversary of Confucius birthday successively, which received many awards. Although Hu Antong’s porcelain engraving works were introduced to the public in a short time, his talented skills have been appreciated by many national renowned artists; collections of works have been collected by international engraving lovers.

- On My Way in the Mountains, Zeng Ji (Song Dynasty)
Zhang Qieyi, Running script in small characters, 35 x 16 cm
Engraver: Hu Antong

When mume fruit turns yellow, it’s fine from day to day;
Leaving the stream, in the mountains I go my way.
I find the shade as green as when I came alone;
What is more, I hear four or five golden orioles' song.
Nederlands: Onderweg naar Sanqu
中文: 三衢道中

-A Scholar’s Retreat, Liu Shenxu (Tang Dynasty)
Zhang Qieyi, Running script in small characters, 25cm in diameter
Engraver: Hu Antong

The pathway ends where white clouds rise;
Spring reigns as far as the Blue Stream goes.
Now and then fragrant flower flies;
Where water runs, its fragrance flows.
The pathway leads to doors oft shut;
A study is shaded by willow trees.
From dazzling sun screened from the hut;
Soft light is filtered by the breeze.

The poem depicts a beautiful view along the mountain path to a villa. Liu tactfully blends his sentiment in every line, describing natural scenery while telling about the joy of seclusion in the mountains. The elegant and ethereal style in traditional Chinese poetry, painting and calligraphy has deep philosophical and aesthetic roots in relation to the concept of beauty and continues to inspire Chinese artistic creation and aesthetic thoughts to this day.
Nederlands: Liu Shenxu “Que Ti”
中文: 阙题

-A Quatrain, Shi Zhinan (Song Dynasty)
Zhang Qieyi, Running script in small characters, 26cm in diameter
Engraver: Hu Antong

Having anchored my small boat in the shade of the old tree,
I walked across the bridge to its east on my Dung weed cane.
I hadn’t been moistened but the apricot flowers by the fine rain.
Willows wafted through the breeze that never chilled the face of me.
Nederlands: Quatrains
中文: 绝句

-Linquan Yixing Painting and Poem, Wen Zhengming (Ming Dynasty)
Zhang Qieyi, Running script in small characters, 26cm in diameter
Engraver: Hu Antong

Chinese paintings devote special attention to traditional artistic concepts. They integrate not only poetry and calligraphy to inspire with rich visual aesthetics and reflection; Chinese paintings also use seal-cutting art to create a highly stylized and refined form of Chinese art. This work of painted poetry depicts a world of man and nature immersed in beauty and vitality: mountain forests, flying waterfalls, green pines, majestic peaks and cliffs fading in and out, rough, hilly and twisting paths, and the sunset’s afterglow diffusing through pine trees and over rivers.
Nederlands: Linquan Yixing schilderij met kalligrafie en gedicht
中文: 林泉逸兴图并行书自作诗