Jade carving, highly difficult intaglio carving technique!

As the saying goes, jade cannot be made into a useful object without being carved. Every piece of jade must be carved, and carving is a perfect transformation for jade. From a piece of raw stone to the final finished product, it goes through the process of merchants selecting and purchasing materials and the sculptor carefully designing and carving, so there is a saying that "three parts material and seven parts labor".

The art of jade carving has developed to the point where various schools have been formed. Some techniques have achieved such an exquisite effect that jade carving is generally divided into two types: manual and machine carving. Compared with machine carving, people prefer hand-carved jade, which is more natural and vivid than machine carving.

Common carving techniques include the following: 1. Round carving: a three-dimensional carving

2. Thin relief: a very shallow relief with a sense of painting

3. Line engraving: engraving patterns with single lines.

4. Relief: carving a raised pattern or shape on a flat surface.

5. Intaglio carving: In contrast to relief carving, it is a process of carving a recessed pattern or shape on a flat surface. Also known as Yin carving.

6. Inner carving: It is a jade carving technique that carves round and relief shapes deep into the interior of the jade material.

7. Colorful carving: that is, skillfully using the various colors of jade materials so that the different colors are distributed exactly in the required parts of the jade carving, giving the work a sense of natural harmony.

8. Hollow carving: also known as openwork carving, that is, the carving is not limited to one side of the jade material, but penetrates the jade material and carves out hollows, so that there are many spaces in the jade piece that are connected to both sides.

Various types of carving techniques have different requirements. The most common ones on the market are relief, round carving, color carving and hollow carving, while the most difficult one is the negative carving technique.

What is Yin Sculpture?

Yin carving is a type of carving, also known as sunken carving. It is the art of carving from the back to the inside. The carved painting looks like it is wrapped inside when viewed from the front. Just like writing reverse words on the back, it looks upright from the front. Compared with positive line carving, negative line carving is more difficult and requires emphasis on knife skills and lines.

Yin carving requires the sculptor to have a profound foundation in calligraphy and painting. It integrates calligraphy, seal cutting and painting into one, and must be completed in one go. The knife cannot break, no traces of continuation can be left, and it cannot be modified repeatedly. Therefore, you should hold your breath and concentrate when cutting, and move the knife cleanly and neatly. Without long-term practice and contemplation, it would be difficult to do it well. For this reason, only masters with superb skills can make reverse-carved objects look lifelike!

Origin of Intaglio

The origin of the intaglio carving technique can be traced back to Lithuania a long time ago, but the workmanship at that time was simple and the carving subjects were mostly flowers. Generally, it is carved with blackened amber and then polished on the front to make the overall color have a strong contrast, thus highlighting the theme.

Later, this craft was introduced into China and combined with traditional Chinese carving techniques, which greatly improved both the technology and the beauty of the finished products. With the development and progress of the times, the negative carvings created by jade carvers today are even more beautiful.

Features of Yin carving

The biggest feature of negative carving is that it has a 3D visual effect. The sculptor plays with the pauses and angles of the lines so that when viewed from the front, the lines of the pattern appear dark and dark, giving it a strong three-dimensional feel.

The process and time required to make a good jadeite carving is relatively long. If there is any mistake during the process, it is very likely that a good material will be wasted.

Therefore, each exquisite Yin-carved jade jewelry is the result of a lot of hard work by the craftsmen. To transform an ordinary raw stone into 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. The master sculptor is endowed with a pair of hands of creation by God, bringing many spiritual objects to the world. Whether it is worn or played with, the fun can only be understood, not described.

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