Chinese Longyan woodstand
The most famous wood carvings in Fujian, the very southern part of China, are primarily made from the Longyan (Dragon-eye) tree. The wood grows mainly in Puxian area which is hard and has its special grain. Local masters in Fujian have been making highly skilled objects like furniture, Buddha statues and Guanyin figurines since the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Besides, masters also use the Longyan roots with its natural twisting and rough node characteristic and transform them into amazingly intricate sculptures of birds and snakes living in trees, as well as mythical beasts from Chinese legends. At the same time, Longyan woodstand craft emerged and literati were amazed by its fabulous wood grain, the unique tiger stripes. Especially in Ming dynasty, the period of “naturalism”, people preferred natural grain than artificial carving. Masters kept the upper panel as uncarved for presenting its natural beauty. The stand below is one of the fascinating examples.
Carved from a single block of good-looking Longyan wood, this rectangular stand has a purely undecorated top but decorated by its natural and perfect dark Longyan wood grain. This upper panel is raised on a wide indented waist with horizontal recessed moulding. The stepped shoulder is supported by four joint feet with simple-designed but very elegant aprons between them. Moreover, the archaistic low-lying design of this stand with plain and crisp moulding suggests its Ming date. The stand is very rare because of its uncommon material and its early date, and also well designed by craftsman to show its original beauty of the wood.
So far, Longyan wood stand such as the piece above is a kind of new collection which gets more and more attention. Different from Zitan and Huanghuali, the most precious wood in China, Longyan wood is affordable and worthy to collect. With its adorable grain and simple but elegant design, it is no surprise that Longyan wood stand will be more and more popular in the near future.
中國龍眼木座
在中國南部的福建省，最為著名的木雕大多是由龍眼木制作而成。龍眼樹生長於莆仙地區，其木質堅硬，并且具有特殊的紋路。自明清時代起，當地的木匠大師就開始使用龍眼木来製作如家具、佛像等需要高超技巧處理的物件。除此之外，工匠大师還使用具有自然卷曲和優美结疤的龍眼樹根製作出一批鬼斧神工的作品，精美的根雕如鳥蛇相争以及中國傳統故事中的瑞獸都被刻畫地栩栩如生。
同时，龍眼木座也伴随着木雕出現，并因其精美而獨特的“虎纹”受到當時文人的喜爱。尤其在崇尚自然主義的明代，人们更傾向于自然的木紋而不是人工的雕飾。工匠通常保留素面的木座面心以顯示其自然的木紋之美。
此件方形木座由一塊上好龍眼木雕製而成，木座面心全素無紋，將龍眼木天然優美的木紋完美展現出来，如圖中所見牙子及四足飾以少量幾何紋飾，簡樸而典雅。復古的矮件設計和平整的造型暗示其屬於明代，是一件不可多得的明代木座。
如今像以上的龍眼木座已成為一類新興的收藏，共受到越来越多的關注。與名貴的紫檀和黄花梨不同的是，龍眼木價格合理並值得收藏。龍眼木座其受人喜爱的木紋以及其簡單而典雅的設計令人毫不意外它將會在不久的將来越来越流行。