Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Shanghai Lao Fengxiang, founded in the twenty-eighth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty (1848), is a famous time-honored Chinese brand. Having been transmitted through several generations across the Qing dynasty, the Republic of China, and the People's Republic of China, it has comprehensively inherited the exquisite craftsmanship of Chinese gold-and-silver fine metalwork. From making gold and silver ornaments, jade and diamond jewelry, vessels, and gilded enamel, to making medals, shield-shaped ornaments, and miniature buildings, it basically possesses every kind of technique, covering almost all the content of our country's traditional gold-and-silver fine metalwork.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Gold-and-silver fine metalwork is a traditional craft of making gold and silver objects. The objects made are mainly used for interior display and appreciation, while also serving practical functions. Gold-and-silver fine metalwork has a long and distant origin, traceable as far back as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, with a history of more than three thousand years to the present day. By the Eastern Han period, a complete gold-and-silver craftsmanship had already taken shape. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the use of enamel and cloisonné techniques promoted the development of gold-and-silver making, making the produced gold-and-silver objects even more crystal-clear and lustrous. Among this trade, the craftsmanship of the Shanghai time-honored silver shop Lao Fengxiang, the Nanjing Baoqing Silver Shop, and the Jiangdu gold-and-silver fine metalwork technique are the most famous. Its techniques of repoussé, gilding, raising, wire-twisting, inlay, and chasing have been used unchanged since ancient times, and are living materials that concretely and vividly reflect the history of our country's gold-and-silver fine metalwork.
Applied filigree chasing
Fine wire is arranged on the surface and soldered flat, the southern technique behind the house's work.
Blending northern and southern technique
Northern filigree is married to southern applied chasing on one piece to gain bulk and richness.
Freehand chasing without a drawing
Raising half-relief imagery and chasing fine patterns on gold with no drawing to guide the hand.
Soldering and assembling the ornaments
Large ornaments are soldered from many parts, skeleton first and chased panels after.
Miniature architecture and badges
Pavilions, towers and badges less than an inch across, with every ridge and lattice rendered.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Gold-and-silver fine metalwork in Nanjing centers on the Baoqing Silver Shop. Historically, the front-shop-back-workshop layout of the silver shops and workshops in the old southern city was key to this craft gathering talent. Over long operation, Baoqing Silver Shop blended the southern solid-inlay-and-chasing with the northern filigree technique, forming a local style that is vigorous and splendid. Together with the delicate refinement of Shanghai's Lao Fengxiang and the majestic elegance of Jiangdu, it stands as a center of domestic gold-and-silver fine metalwork.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship · Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship · Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Wang Dianxiang (per the official archive of the associated inheritor): Representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item 'Gold-and-Silver Fine Metalwork Technique.' China Arts and Crafts Master, senior craft artist. He began working in art design in his youth, was transferred to Baoqing Silver Shop in 1970, and engaged in the design and creation of gold-and-silver display pieces and jewelry for nearly forty years. Upholding tradition, he inherited the manufacturing craftsmanship of China's traditional gold-and-silver products and drew on the modeling styles and features of craft works across the dynasties. Together with the older generation of craftsmen at Baoqing Silver Shop, he jointly designed and produced gold-and-silver display pieces such as 'Golden Dragon Soaring,' 'All Things Renewed,' 'Three Horses Pulling a Cart,' and 'Tang Emperor's Horse,' organically blending the southern solid-inlay-and-chasing craft with the northern filigree craft, forming the vigorous, grand, and splendid artistic style of Baoqing Silver Shop's gold-and-silver display pieces. He published papers such as 'How Can Art Be Sold by the Gram,' 'An Era of Artistic Jewelry Consumption Is Coming,' and 'Strengthening the Social Responsibility of Brands,' attracting industry attention. Male, Han, born in October 1939, died in April 2015, from Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. Li Jianjun (per the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Han, born in August 1958, from Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item 'Gold-and-Silver Fine Metalwork Technique.' Seventh-generation transmitter of the gold-and-silver fine metalwork technique, intermediate-grade craft artist, Nanjing City Arts and Crafts Master. In 1979 he entered the Nanjing Metal Craft Factory and has engaged in the production and design of gold-and-silver display pieces for forty years. He received systematic art education and is proficient in various related categories of craftsmanship, with chasing being his most outstanding skill. Even without drawings, he can raise semi-relief images on gold sheets and carve exquisite patterns, advancing the new development of the gold-and-silver fine metalwork technique. He successively participated in performance and exchange activities such as the Beijing 'Ingenious Craftsmanship'—China Intangible Cultural Heritage Hundred Arts-and-Crafts Masters Skills Exhibition, the First Jewelry and Artware Exhibition, and the 57th World Folklore Art Exhibition in Italy, winning multiple awards. He currently runs a celebrity studio and has two apprentices.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Dianxiang 03-1375
- Zhang Xinyi 04-1882
- Wang Jiezhong 05-2813
- Li Jianjun 05-2814
- Fang Xuebin 05-2815
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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