Makers › Master Craftsmen
Gu Jue
Qing bamboo carver from Jiading noted for minutely detailed work, each piece said to take a year or two
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 Zongyu
- Roles
- Master Craftsmen
Gu Jue, courtesy name Zongyu, came from Jiading near Shanghai and carved bamboo in the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns. Jin Yuanyu's Qing record of bamboo carvers describes his cutting as deep and exposed and says a single piece could take him a year or two; he also carved aloeswood and boxwood into miniature peaks in the manner of Lingbi and Ying stones. His works usually carry the signature Gu Jue and a Zongyu seal; the Shanghai Museum holds his bamboo-root carving of immortals offering birthday wishes, and other pieces, including a brush holder with the Pavilion of the Old Drunkard, bear his name.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active in the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns