HISTORICAL BACKDROP
Peach pits have
been carved for
several centuries: Tim Hallman
of the
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, California contends that the craft
originated in China
where the Peach is a symbol of longevity(1); Wang
Xu-De, in a summary about the history of peach pit carving in China,
notes "Peach stone carving has a long history in China and is first
recorded in the middle of the Song dynasty [960 -1279]"(2); it also is recorded
that AHandiwork of
pit carving was all the rage for a time in the Ming [1368-1644]
and Qing [1644 -1911] Dynasties.@(3); [and] folklore
exhibits of the Sichuan University Museum in south-central
China include Asome fantastically small carvings
including a miniature boat and crew carved from a peach pit.@(4)
More recently:
Michigan State University lists "Peach Pit
Carving" on
its
"... topical file subjects" relating to the Michigan
Traditional Arts Program. Articles have been published
about peach pit
carving in both China and America in, for example, the periodical Chip Chats.
Carvings have been
displayed at art and craft festivals. And, a few web sites describe
and/or illustrate relatively recently
carved peach pits.
So far as the
place peach pit
carving has in the world of arts and crafts, the
following
rather apt statement seems to "say it all" – i.e.,
for all, save a few professional, peach pit
carvers whom I know or have read about: "This
unusual art form seems not to
be attached to any specific region, ethnic group, or occupation.
One simply
occasionally finds folks who like to sit down and carve tiny figures
and baskets out of
peach pits...@(5).
PITS and TOOLS
Peach pits, sometimes referred to
as peach stones or even peach
seeds, comprise the cores
of the widely eaten fruit called peach.
