Foreword: For those who read this blog for the photo tips, all photos in this entry were taken with an aperture value of 2.2 to create the bokeh effect.
I love jade. But there’s the ultra expensive jade and the less expensive jadeite. When I saw these handpainted jade (jadeite, I’m sure) eggs in Singapore, I couldn’t resist.
Two inches long without the stand. There were bigger ones, but the bigger the more expensive.
That’s my idea of an ornament. I bought two. The two globes at the background are not eggs.
They’re… well, glass globes — with a twist.
See the hole underneath? The glass is about a quarter or so of an inch thick but inside it is hollow. The artwork is painted from inside. A brush is inserted into that hole and the painting is executed. According to the Chinese shopkeeper, painters who do this kind of artwork hold their breath as they paint. I’d seen a documentary on these glass globes and the procedure is really amazing. We all know about painting on a surface facing the artist but inserting a paintbrush into a hole and painting the glass from inside? Amazing.
The artwork depict a scene and the completed scene can be viewed by the turning the globe around. Here’s another.
But I mentioned a bowl of eggs on the coffee table in the title and you must be wondering where they are. Okay. Click the link to page two to see them — and they’re not a bowl of hand painted jadeite eggs, trust me, because that would be way too expensive for me.
So, after buying the pair of jadeite eggs, I got a little obsessed with eggs. And when we were in Dapitan (you know, where we bought the gorgeous back-to-back wall clock and where Speedy got the wind chimes and Alex’s katana) last week and I saw these smooth eggs, I was hooked.
Marble, according to the sales girl although I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re made from some other stone. I don’t really care — I just love them. I don’t like flower vases on the coffee table (who says a flower vase is a must on the living room coffee table, anyway?) but these eggs are perfect.
They come in five colors — white, brown, green, beige and yellow. I bought three of each. I placed them on a glass bowl and realized I didn’t have enough. We went back to Dapitan today and I bought 15 more. I don’t usually get carried away with home decorating but when I see something I really like, well…
The wooden bowl — a flower-shaped salad bowl, believe it or not — (yes, I ditched the glass bowl idea at Speedy’s suggestion) was also bought in Dapitan. Fifty pesos, no kidding. The eggs? Three for fifty pesos. Not bad at all.
I thought ‘marble’ at once when I saw the pic. But then again… marble is expensive, noh? So if they’re 3 for 50, they must be made of some other material. But you’re right.. who cares? They’re gorgeous!
Elegant eggs!! love them too!! … yan ang advantage when the kids are grown up already, you stop being careful about displaying and using breakables and those small things (na kayang-kayang isubo at lulunin ng bata) anywhere in the house.
akala ko jellybeans with a sprinkling of peanuts in between. lol
wow the glass globe artworks are very nice. i could imagine the skill put in making each one considering their size. it’s the first time i’ve seen them. i am really amazed.
is this like a traditional artform? and the images painted are they from epics or folk stories?
Could be marble…someone made good use of otherwise irregular cuts. Ingenious!
The artwork is exquisite. I like the flow of your theme-marble complementing the jadeite and vice versa.
Rhodora, yes, that was what I thought. Marble’s very expensive so they couldn’t be. But then if they were made from scraps, maybe…??
Beatriz, when the kids were young, everything — including photo frames — were on overhead shelves hahahaha
Lee, laki namang jellybeans nyan hahaha
Andeeeng, I’m not really sure how old the artform is. And, if I remember correctly, the docu I saw was Japanese. Possible that the Chinese brought the art to Japan.
Carmen, all for the love of eggs hehehe
nice to display artworks at home when the owner is informed of the story behind the art or at least how unique pieces like the jade eggs are made by dextrous hands (may risk of asphyxiation pa involve in the process hahaha). Amazing indeed.
Thank you for sharing.
Ang lupit, ano? Imagine the discipline and patience required to execute something like that. So small. So fine.
ms connie, i used to have similar eggs on display in my house. beautiful handpainted paper mache eggs on small stands. ‘used to’ because all 12 of them — yes, 12 — are now but mere memories, having been made into ping pong balls and playthings by my two preschoolers. believe me, we also placed them on overhead shelves (higher than me pa nga eh) but they always managed to reach them somehow. maybe i’ll go buy new ones in dapitan when my kids reach 25.
Hahaha When they’re around 15 or 16, pwede na.
The bird design seems nice.
I agree, who says a flower vase should always adorn a table.
When I was still single and living alone, I had a collection of colored pebbles which I placed in a green plate to liven up my dining table. Ngayon na may malilikot na kamay ng mga anak, hay, I have stopped decorating muna. Perhaps when they are older, I can get “obsessed with eggs too.” haha.