CRAFT OF GOD CARVING IN SINGAPORE
73
15). This is sand-papered to produce a finish but not to eliminate all the cut marks of the blades which will be obliterated by the next process.
A bowl of rich golden yellow paste is prepared from a small quantity of powder from a crumbling block bought many years ago from China which the carvers call "yellow mud" (huang ni) and an oily substance which presumably is casein based. One coat of this mud bonded with tiny strips of rice paper is brushed over the image patch by patch, the small two-inch squares of rice paper being placed over the bare wood to fill in gaps and cover knots (Plate 16), and allowed to dry overnight before being rubbed down again with sandpaper (Plate 17). This primer of "yellow mud" and rice paper dries hard and unglossy, and even fifty to a hundred years later, images accidentally chipped will reveal the hard dull yellow without revealing the bare wood.
The next stage is the administration of the raised decoration. The most delicate part of the god-making operation is the decoration, the fine definition of armour, the head-dress, the shoulder epaulettes, and the badges of rank worn across the chest by the civil and military mandarins. A mixture of a strong-smelling viscous black-blue wax (tang shan chi), incense ash, and ground charcoal is prepared by rubbing and rolling until it is sufficiently malleable. The god carvers said that the wax was obtained from the sap of an unnamed tree in Fukien and in its raw state will burn the flesh on contact. The mixture is placed, squeezed, or pressed onto the image very carefully and gently. Long threads of rolled wax (Plate 18) are guided into position by the deft fingers of one craftsman who holds a spatula in his left hand; where the threads cross, they are carefully pressed into each other to avoid bumps. Other fine lines are squeezed from a bag, like icing (Plate 19), and pellets of wax are precisely placed in their correct positions (Plates 20, 21, and 22) to depict buttons or parts of the decoration. The wax sticks to the mud-covered image without further adhesive. Once the wax is thoroughly dry, usually after forty-eight hours, it is painted with a white primer.
The colouring stage is now ready to begin. An entirely different team is employed here, usually the females of the family. The colouring nowadays consists either of modern commercially produced paints or the application of gold leaf. The paints are applied with
CRAFT OF GOD CARVING IN SINGAPORE
73
15). This is sand-papered to produce a finish but not to eliminate all the cut marks of the blades which will be obliterated by the next process.
A bowl of rich golden yellow paste is prepared from a small quantity of powder from a crumbling block bought many years ago from China which the carvers call "yellow mud" (huang ni★*) and an oily substance which presumably is casein based. One coat of this mud bonded with tiny strips of rice paper is brushed over the image patch by patch, the small two inch squares of rice paper being placed over the bare wood to fill in gaps and cover knots (Plate 16), and allowed to dry over night before being rubbed down again with sand paper (Plate 17). This primer of "yellow mud” and rice paper dries hard and unglossy, and even fifty to a hundred years later images accidentally chipped will reveal the hard dull yellow without revealing the bare wood.
The next stage is the administration of the raised decoration. The most delicate part of the god making operation is the decora- tion, the fine definition of armour, the head-dress, the shoulder epualettes and the badges of rank worn across the chest by the civil and military mandarins. A mixture of a strong-smelling viscous black-blue wax (tang shan chil), incense ash and ground charcoal is prepared by rubbing and rolling until it is sufficiently malleable. The god carvers said that the wax was obtained from the sap of a unnamed tree in Fukien and in its raw state will burn the flesh on contact. The mixture is placed, squeezed or pressed on to the image very carefully and gently. Long threads of rolled wax (Plate 18) are guided into position by the deft fingers of one craftsman who holds a spatula in his left hand; where the threads cross they are carefully pressed into each other to avoid bumps. Other fine lines are squeezed from a bag, like icing, (Plate 19) and pellets of wax are precisely placed in their correct positions (Plates 20, 21 and 22) to depict buttons or parts of the decoration. The wax sticks to the mud-covered image without further adhesive. Once the wax is thoroughly dry, usually after forty-eight hours, it is painted with a white primer.
The colouring stage is now ready to begin. An entirely different team is employed here, usually the females of the family. The co- louring nowadays consists either of modern commercially produced paints or the application of gold leaf. The paints are applied with
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