The Makers: Bamboo Master Class

It’s an eye-opener to witness Master Hu ply his craft in bamboo marquetry. First he hand-chops the young bamboo culms, stripping the bark before embarking on a painstaking journey to cleaver the wood into tiny splinters just 0.5mm thick. The work is exacting, graceful and clearly requires the patience of a saint.

Hu, who learnt his trade aged just 13 in the province of Zheijang; China is the guardian of an extraordinary skill that dates back to the Qing Dynasty. Now he is plying his trade for luxury artisan brand Shang Xia in a collection called Twilight. The Hermès-backed, Shang Xia takes the preservation and re-invention of Chinese handicrafts very seriously.

“We want to bring the art of living into a new century.”

Chinese literati were said to adore bamboo marquetry; the intricate patterns create a play of light and shade that is beguiling, meditative even. Hu assembles the patterns using notched strips locked together by tiny bridges of bamboo, so small he picks them up with a tweezer like tool. The pieces including jewellery boxes and round trays are exquisite with their hand polished finish and graphic lattice patterns.

“For Shang Xia, everything that we are doing right now is for the future. With heritage craftsmanship, innovations in contemporary design and modern technology, we want to bring the art of living into a new century,” says Chief Executive Officer Jiang Qiong Er. The objects are useful and let’s not forget that beauty has a ‘use’ too.

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The Makers:
Bamboo Master Class Why Shang Xia is recalibrating the beauty of bamboo