FREE: Rare,Vintage,Fuzhou Chinese Cork Carving, Mini!

The listing, Rare,Vintage,Fuzhou Chinese Cork Carving, Mini! has ended.

This is a tiny ,early, Chinese Fuzhou cork carving(Diorama) , in a tiny little glass and black lacquered box.It's a little house or temple, all hand carved with precision tools, and is not more than about 3" tall. Over the years , I've seen and owned a number of these but this is by far the tiniest! I've owned it for many years, and it's time to let someone else enjoy it. The art of carving cork began with a Mr. Wu Qiqi , around 1910 when cork post cards became popular. They came from Germany and in the next 5 yrs as Mr, Wu Qiqi was a student is was introduced as an art form in his class. He soon refined the technique using Western tools, and landscape ideas, and it grew to about 100 carvers in the 1930's to not less than 15000 in the 1980's! It was a hugely successful industry for the Province of Fuzhou. But at the height, things collapsed and quality fell, prices which had skyrocketed were now dropping like a proverbial rock. Since then the number of artists fell back to 100 after the factories closed. In 2010 a woman, Ms.Shi Chunqing opened Fuzhou Crafts and Arts Company has begun a revival of the industry,as she wants it to be preserved for the future.The older ones are becoming collectibles now, such as this one The detail on the pagoda is just amazing! You can see why these were so popular! It's like looking into a tiny world of it's own! I've looked at this everyday for years! And I know I will miss it! But I also know you'll really enjoy it! That gives me a lot of satisfaction! I cannot do refunds or returns as I have no others like it. This is not new , so you know things "mello" with age. I take Paypal for shipping or concealed cash. Be verified to bid.Please keep rude comments to yourself,or I will block you.Payment for shipping is expected immediately after the auction ends.If you cannot do that please talk to me first ,& I cannot accept Money orders. Sorry.Shipping is USPS,Priority w/ Insurance. TY