The art of decorating wooden incense sticks in the seventeenth century at Thay Pagoda

The art of decoration on wooden incense of the seventeenth century at Thay Pagoda reaches the pinnacle of wood carving. It is the sophistication and skill of many traditional carving techniques, of which the highlight is the art of carving, carving, carving. The themes decorated on wooden incense of the seventeenth century are rich with motifs and patterns associated with sacred images such as dragons, phoenixes, sagging clouds, flowers, leaves …
The incense shrine function is an altar where to display some of the above worshiping objects such as incense bowls, lampstands, ritual offerings … is solemnly placed in the place of Tam Bao worshiping Buddha, the area of ​​holy worship or the worship of Mother. The art of decorating incense is the art of carving harmoniously lines, colors, shapes, motifs, to create aesthetic and artistic values.

The front of Chua Chua wooden incense sticks. Thay Pagoda’s name is “Thien Phuc Tu” in Sai Son commune, Quoc Oai district, Hanoi. The pagoda turns to the south and looks out to Long Chieu lake in front. Decorative art in Thay Pagoda is shown on the architectural composition of all three main buildings (Thuong pagoda, Trung pagoda, Ha pagoda), especially in the pagoda, there is also a seventeenth-century wooden jasmine in the upper court. . This is one of the artifacts of high artistic value typical for seventeenth century sty art that still exists today. In the temple there is also a wooden incense stick of eighteenth century style at Trung pagoda, along with the seventeenth century incense like the form of a mandala, but in terms of size, motif and style different changes compared with incense of the seventeenth century. By the nineteenth century, the form of incense was changed to the tall leg style, the vacuum part was no longer made to the style of the previous century, the size was reduced, the motif, the style of touch had a significant change with the carvings are not sophisticated and complex as in the seventeenth century. The motifs decorated the Buddhist temple incense Decorative motifs of dragons in combination with safflower clouds: Observing joss sticks in the upper court at Thay Pagoda, the dragon-shaped motif is the main one used to decorate incense on all four sides. The decorative art at Thay Pagoda is relatively similar to other pagodas of the same period, the dragon shape has always been a symbol of authority, used flexibly and harmoniously in the Vietnamese temple space. Decorated street frill wooden sentence Chua Thay. The dragon motif combined with the swords decorated on the joss sticks Chua Thay has changed in shape and layout, but has always been a key position on the overall joss sticks. Dragons are carved in the center, body, legs, overalls and without angular ears. For the decoration that is divided into the compartment as in the body of the incense, the dragon motif has changed in style. In the body of the incense, the dragon motif is shown with the front view, clearly showing the face, eyes, nose, mouth, and the blades that radiate sharply above and to the sides. Here the motifs are shown in the composition more visible and energetic, exhibiting strong authority. The dragon-shaped Buddhist temple adoring the sun has always been a popular form on incense in the seventeenth century and also popular in the later period. This motif is in the central part of the camellia, if in the body the direction is not focused, in the bib, the dragon shaped sun against the twisted pattern is the focus point on the overall incense. The two symmetrical dragons, this part combining dragons, cloud clouds, magma clouds, sun, is stretched horizontally, in a very airy and comfortable way. The dragon motif looks sideways to fight in the middle, the blades are pulled backwards, parallel to the long and short layers to change to create a smooth movement in the system of swords. Characteristics of dragons in the seventeenth century carved with pointed swords, straight tail, twisted clouds … Decorative motifs of the phoenix: Decorative motifs of lotus flowers, stylized chrysanthemums: The picture of the phoenix looking at the temple’s incense. Temple court of the Thay Temple, the tip of the Phuong model is arranged in a rectangular frame, posted against each other to create a harmony. In the Mac era, the image of Phuong bird was unified decorated in combination with twisted clouds, flowers and leaves, by the seventeenth century folk elements were developed stronger, the image of the phoenix with soft and flexible wings. .. In general, incense incense sticks of Thay Pagoda are carved in the shape of a side view, not only carved on wooden incense but also closely attached to many other positions in the architecture. In terms of design, whether touching on wood incense or other architectural elements, Phuong still keeps the typical beauty such as quills, pheasant-like hair flying backwards to create soft layers of swords. The neck of a Phoenix bird is usually decorated in a hiccup style, the body has a spear that flies to the back, with the above pose and carries the features of the seventeenth century, the image of the phoenix always in a moving posture. It is also by touching in this way that evokes the space of the previous, the back layer, intertwined, the wings and tail of the phoenix, showing that this is a refinement of the shape, but the writing of the pen is very comfortable. Expressions of fast, thin, deep, bright patterns, clouds, flowers … characteristics of the seventeenth century. The image of phoenix bird is touched in the form of reliefs, sometimes with holes and shallow touches with opposite layout. If the unified dragon motif exists in both the body, the legs and the cover, the Phuong-shaped motif is used less often, usually in a sub-position, a small area on the overall incense and makes the topic. more rich and lively. In general, in terms of decorative artistic features of the bird-shaped phoenix, Master Temple’s sentence still follows the principles and harmony of traditional folk art, most of which is the form expressed in dynamic, refined posture. In the way of touching shapes, blocks, and strokes, the unique characteristics of this phoenix motif are made in this time. The lotus motif in Thay Pagoda as in other pagodas of the same period is decorated in many different positions and has a different role. With Buddhist joss sticks, the lotus motif is mainly decorated to form the fringing of the parts above, on the one hand is to beautify the incense, on the other hand to increase the artistic value and sacredness. incense. On the whole wooden incense line, the lines separating the parts are decorated with a lotus-shaped motif, the expression of different lotus petals makes the distinction between the parts easily. There is no lotus decoration on the face of Thay’s incense stick. One part is the narrow size of Thay incense sticks, stretching the image of a phoenix looking at Thay Pagoda’s side. Spread the parts together to create narrower gaps and wider widths. It is also this change that parts and motifs expressed by the ancient artisans are suitable and delicate for each incense of this period. Techniques and effective art of carving incense sticks of Thay Pagoda Chua Thay incense sticks are mainly embossed, gorgeously carved and punctured on the surface, the carving technique is unified between the four sides. If the chrysanthemum surface is punctured to create a small contour, the next to the technical body has been changed, the combination of embossing and punctures in a predetermined frame and separated by lines just engrave. The dragon figure in Thay pagoda’s incense sticks is very delicate and soft by the ancient artisans, the touch lines become elegant, rhythmically linked together by strokes, blocks and arrays. The exposed part is shown thicker, creating a space deep inside the incense that increases the bold contrast and vividness of the touched array. The contour of the lotus petals in this incense is different from the other ones at the same time, the lotus petals are punctured. Interrupting the body and legs of the incense is punctured, embossed by decorative patterns, this part the old craftsman skillfully created gaps, gaps, voids, and the technique of carving shapes and strokes. making the incense more vivid and rich while still creating a deep sacredness. The dragon image looks directly at the temple of Thay. Through the analysis of the incense, the motifs decorated on the incense, the technique and effectiveness of the art of carving Chua Chua incense, combined with elements from space, light all play one. very important role. The artistic value of Thay Pagoda incense is a complete balance of decorative carvings, highlighting the theme content, creating a visual impression. The master temple of Chua Thay temple is a product that shows the hands and wisdom of an ancient artisan, bearing an important imprint of the seventeenth-century Vietnamese carving and decoration art in particular and the history of Vietnamese art in particular. general.