It clearly isn't just me who thinks these coral carvings of the Chinese Goddess Kuanyin and other figures are very desirable judging by the number of bids at auction and the prices achieved over their estimates. Given the destructive environmental considerations, I would be loathe to buy anything new, and the same applies to ivory sculptures, but I suppose I do contribute to any trade in these resources when I state my liking, and I'm not entirely sure what the answer is. All of these items shown here are manufactured in China, but all are for sale in the United States.
As a child I remembered, (perhaps incorrectly) that they were sold in great quantities at quite reasonable prices in the large Chinese store in Hong Kong, The Chinese Merchandise Emporium, (better known as the "Commie Shop", to reflect it's Mainland roots pre-Deng Xioping's "To get Rich is Glorious" second revolution).
On a recent visit to Hong Kong I tried to find the old Commie Shop, but it has long since given way to something much more entrepreneurial, which would have pleased Father Deng. A similar shop, Chinese Arts & Crafts did have coral pieces, on a much grander scale than those I'm showing. The prices, like the pieces, were staggering, in the hundreds of thousands.
How do you weigh up ethical versus beauty issues?
No comments:
Post a Comment