Personal ethics and aesthetics
Self-cultivation and tactile expression
Often, a 'set' involves paired and contrasting tactile and visual experience. On the left, a water dropper is paired with a small basin for washing a brush. The water dropper is carved hardwood, dense and massive. Its smoothness and warm colouring bring it into relation with the glass basin. The basin then draws attention by being comparatively small for this sort of object, and hence light in weight. Its translucent yellow resonates with the deep, lustrous black-brown of the water dropper.
On the right, brushes of simple spotted bamboo rest on a coloured silk cloth woven with ancient patterns. The common ground lies in the confluence of ancient shape and natural material, both suggesting directness and origins. They are both made with precision, the silk weave tight and fine, fine tips of the brushes carefully crafted for use. The lightweight and firm surface of the silk contrasts with the hollow lightness of the bamboo.
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| Water dropper and brush wash bowl Carved hardwood and glass 19th century Private collection | Reproduction of pre-Song (before 10th century) silk design With contemporary bamboo brushes Private collection |