The intaglio art on jade carvings, a kind of implicit and restrained beauty

If jade is not carved, it cannot become a useful object.

Jade carving has been passed down from ancient times to the present day, and has produced many amazing carving techniques. Especially in light of the economic and cultural differences between the north and the south, jade carvings often reflect the local cultural characteristics. Therefore, jade carving is also divided into several major factions, but carving techniques can be divided into relief, openwork, hollow carving, line carving, negative carving, round carving, etc., among which negative carving is a relatively difficult technique.

Yin carving is also called sunken carving, inner carving, and back carving. A carving technique in which the surface of the carving material is carved into a depression so that the text or pattern is recessed under the hook edge and lower than the plane of the material. It relies on skilled and accurate techniques to make the lines have starting and ending points, pauses, and depth.

In fact, to put it simply, Yin carving is a technique opposite to relief carving. It requires the jade carver to have a deep foundation in carving and painting skills, and to be able to perfectly combine design and carving to achieve the ideal effect.

The reason why negative carving is difficult is that it requires extremely delicate patience and skill. The knife is used as a pen and it must be completed in one go. The knife must not be broken, no traces of continuity can be left, and no modifications can be made repeatedly. Therefore, you should hold your breath and concentrate when cutting, and move the knife cleanly and neatly. It is much more difficult than relief carving, and the jade carvers who are able to master the technique of negative carving have all gone through repeated training and learning, and experienced many failures and setbacks before they finally truly mastered this technique.

At the same time, Yin carving is also very picky about the selection of jade materials. Only jade with fine texture and smooth surface can be carved using Yin carving techniques. Otherwise, the work will fail and the material will be wasted.

The themes of intaglio carving are also rich and colorful. Insects, fish, birds, beasts, flowers, trees, figures, animals, etc. are carved out through the intaglio method with a unique flavor. As long as the craftsmanship reaches a certain level, such jade carvings have extremely high artistic value and collection value.

Exquisite Yin-carved jade also requires a lot of hard work from the craftsmen. From an ordinary raw stone to a beautiful finished product, it requires not only a pair of eyes that can discover beauty, but also a pair of hands that can create beauty.