Detail: This exhibition on the neglected art of Chinese stand-making is a rare opportunity to view over 130 examples of Chinese stands dating from the Tang to the Qing dynasty from the Songde Tang collection. Most of the exhibits are exquisite wood carvings with a small number made of other materials such as bronze or ceramic.
Compared with other scholar's objects in the history of Chinese art, stands have rarely been recognised as artworks in their own right. Because of their function, attention has been focused on the beauty of scholar's objects, than the significance of the stands. Each wooden stand featured in this exhibition was custom-made for the individual art work for which it was crafted. Considered as a miniature piece of wood furniture, the carving techniques of the wooden stand, particularly the mortise-and-tenon technique, was derived from the making of antique Chinese furniture. Each of the designs is unique, and takes the features of the main work as their object, and craftsmen were specifically trained for this particular purpose. The stands not only function as supports, but also reflect the beauty of the main piece. Due to their high quality, wooden stands have been treasured by private collectors.
This exhibition is on loan from the Songde Tang collection. An illustrated catalogue with a scholarly essay describing the ten categories of stands will be published for this exhibition.