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Asian goldfish statue - hand carved...

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Asian goldfish statue - hand carved water buffalo horn

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The Chinese tradition of carving water buffalo horn dates to ancient times. The color and consistency of the horn resembles a bakelite plastic. It is soft enough to be formed, even by crude tools, yet strong and light enough to be used as a handle or tool itself. Today buffalo horn is still used for fine writing and art brushes and sculpting knives. In art, buffalo horn is a sculpture medium, prized both for its fine natural finish and for its unique coloration. It ranges from a dark ebony color to a pale alabaster, often marbling and transitioning in patterns within the horn. Artist use the changes in shade to "color" their carvings and to create natural contrasts; The art is an intersection between careful planning and the chance of nature. Buffalo horn carvings also represent a deeper Taoist dynamic in Chinese art. Many carvings are of fish or flowing vegetation, things that are almost fluid in their movement, yet the horn itself is rigid. It is also dead tissue used to represent living plants and animals. It all plays into the Yin and Yang of Taoist thought that is a major component of most Chinese arts. All of Reorient's horn carvings are authentic water buffalo. In China, and thoughout Asia, water buffalo is farmed raised and heavily utilized for food and animal by-products and is not an endangered species. The horn carvings in Reorient's collections were originally made in the late 1970's in the aftermath of the Chinese cultural revolution.