Chinese Cork Carving

 Chinese cork carving is a traditional art form in Fujian province in China that uses cork to make landscapes and dioramas that quite often include wildlife such as pandas. Unlike some truly ancient Chinese art forms, cork sculpture is relatively new. Wood carving artist Wu Qiqi of Xiyuan village in Fuzhou, the capital city of  Fujian province, around 100 years ago was impressed by the wooden carvings brought back from Germany by travelers.  These pictures in wood were the inspiration for Chinese artists to make their own examples, but theirs were made of cork.

Cork harvesting

Cork has been used for millennia. Its natural bouyancy has been utilized for flotation devices, fishing equipment, and stoppers for wine bottles. Cork is harvested from a type of evergreen oak tree and is the outer bark of these trees. It is a renewable resource as the trees can live as long as 300 years, with the outer bark being able to be harvested periodically throughout its lifetime. The harvest is done manually so as not to damage the underlayer of the bark because that is the part of the tree that will produce more cork bark. Most cork is produced in Spain and Portugal, with the majority of cork used for stoppers in wine bottles. Although there is a type of cork tree that grows in China, cork carving artisans usually get the material from Europe. 

It takes 3 years for an apprentice to learn the art, but the artform was in decline a few years ago in Fuzhou when Chinese exports were curtailed. Now that the market has improved, cork carving has made somewhat of a comeback, although there remains few artists who still do it. Cork carvings are now available from very small objects that are reasonably priced, to pictures that take up an entire wall which are very expensive.  Chinese cork carving