Leather Art
01 · Historical Records
During the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty, large numbers of Han people moved onto the grasslands, and elements of agricultural culture began to merge into the steppe culture.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Mongolian leather art is a form of traditional handicraft culture long favored and frequently used by the inhabitants of the Mongolian plateau. Mongolian leather art has a long history. In ancient times, animal hides, being light, hard-wearing, and moisture-resistant, became necessities of life for nomadic peoples, shielding them from severe cold and providing camouflage. Driven forward and shaped by the interaction of the two cultures, multi-element leather daily utensils began to appear. Mongolian leather art demands strict selection of materials, rigorous craftsmanship, and complex production, comprising six steps: hide selection, moistening, tracing the design, hammering the outline, dyeing, and inlay and padding. First, select leather 1-6 millimeters thick and cut it according to the design draft at a 1:1 ratio; evenly spray the front of the cut leather with clean water, then transfer the outline of the design draft onto the wetted front surface. As the image requires, chisel-press the texture along the main outlines and hammer it into shallow relief, exploiting the plasticity of the leather to form grooves so that the surface shows an ordered contrast of raised and recessed areas with clear layering. Next, using a brush dipped in water-based or alcohol-based pigment, render the leather layer by layer; after establishing the light-and-dark contrast on the front of the leather, apply the colors with pigments matching the intended palette. Finally, identify the areas to be inlaid, break through the hide surface with a drill bit, and drill holes matching the size and shape of the decorative pieces, into which the jewelry, metal, or other decorative materials are set and glued. Alternatively, on the finished relief surface of the leather carving, locate the areas requiring three-dimensional layering and affix padding materials to the precise positions from the back of the leather, so as to achieve the intended three-dimensional effect. The representative works of Mongolian leather art are numerous and mostly closely connected with daily life; they include fur and hide garments, leather quivers, leather pots, saddles inlaid with relief-carved leather, leather bags, leather cases, and leather paintings. Representative works include the leather relief painting "White Manjushri" and the leather artworks "Ulan Muqir" and "Ode to the Prosperous Grasslands". Mongolian leather art carries the imprint of life in nomadic culture, embodies the historical evolution of steppe leather culture, and reflects the plurality of cultures, making it of great significance for exploring the development history of leather art and for understanding the laws of cultural integration. It embodies the cultural elements and craft concepts of traditional technique, and has contributed to the dissemination of ethnic culture, the revitalization of traditional culture, and the promotion of social harmony.
Six stages of the leather work
Six stages from selecting and damping the hide through stamping, shaping, dyeing and inlay, the contour hammered repeatedly until it holds its line.
One-to-one pattern and thin hide
Hide one to six millimetres thick is cut to a full-scale pattern, damped on the face and stamped so the design can then be cut.
Light gear for a mobile life
Light, hard-wearing and damp-proof, hide became indispensable to a mobile pastoral life, and bowl, box and saddle sets emerged from it.
Six generations of teaching
Six recorded generations, with study bases, training programmes and over ten thousand practitioners currently working the craft.
Spread across the leagues
Found across Inner Mongolia's twelve leagues and further into Shaanxi, Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai and overseas communities.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Its distribution is relatively broad, with the twelve leagues and cities of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as the principal area; it is also found in Shaanxi, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Qinghai, and even in other countries and regions overseas.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Mongolian leather art is transmitted through the master-apprentice model, and its documented lineage of inheritors now spans six generations. The government attaches great importance to its protection and transmission: it has established intangible cultural heritage study and practice bases, actively carried out training and study programs for inheritors, and strengthened the training of inheritors. It supports the formation of study and research teams, organizes hands-on project experiences, arranges public-interest lectures by inheritors, and actively publicizes and promotes the art. At present, the project is in a fairly good state of continuity, with more than ten thousand apprentices and practitioners.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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