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Feng Xilu
Kangxi-era Jiading bamboo carver famed for figures carved from bamboo root, summoned to serve at court in 1703
A craft workshop centres on a potter's wheel holding a tall celadon vase, amid racks of red lacquer boxes, an embroidery frame with a floral design, shelves of celadon ware, carved wooden panels and stacked logs, while one craftsman works at a table and another stands at a glowing kiln.
Also known as Zi Yihou
- Roles
- Master Craftsmen
Feng Xilu, courtesy name Yihou, came from Jiading, now part of Shanghai, and with his elder brother Xijue and younger brother Xizhang was known as one of the 'three legs of the tripod' of bamboo carving. He excelled at figures carved in the round from bamboo root, lively in expression and fluent in drapery, and is regarded as the leading Jiading master of this form. In 1703 he was summoned to serve at court for his carving. The Shanghai Museum holds his bamboo Luohan, the three brothers carved a Drunken Concubine Yang brush pot together, and brush pots with figures signed with his name also survive.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active in the Kangxi reign, summoned to the palace in 1703