Page 114 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

The Art of Chinese Knotwork: a Short History 103

The 3rd- or 4th-century brick inscription of the legendary Seven Sages of
the Bamboo Grove excavated in Nanking shows that the musical intrument
held by the sage Juan Hsien (n.d.) is ornamented with a knotted pendant.
From time to time makers of household objects in ancient China would
turn to knotwork for design inspiration. Two examples from the T'ang Dy-
nasty are pertinent here. A silver kettle unearthed in Hsian (known today as
Ch'angan) exhibits a pattern that is entirely based on the T'uan-ching Chieh
(Round Brocade Knot, Fig. 12), while the decoration of a bronze mirror is
modeled after the Shou-tai Chieh (Cordon knot, Fig. 13). The auspicious
Ts'o-chiang-ts'ao Chieh (Cloverleaf Knot, Fig. 14) had even laid the ground-
work for the pattern design of a Sung porcelain box.
Decorative knots in use during the Ch'ing period were many, indeed;
they were no doubt the culmination of a tradition dating back to ancient
times. Knots were attached to a wide variety of objects, such as fans, scepters,
pouches, sachets, and eyeglass cases; in fact, most of the knot patterns that
we are familiar with today were pretty much in vogue then.

Fig. 15. Intricate Knotwork
While we do not know how extensively knots and splices were used in the
Shang and Chou periods (1766-221 B.C.), we are certain that they were crucial
to many personal and household objects. For one thing, bronze mirrors were
forged with rings, so that they could be tied to walls by knotted cords. For
another, prized ornaments, such as those composed of several small pieces
of carved jade, warranted equally attractive cord mounting, and putting the
pieces together in a string certainly called for intricate knotwork (Fig. 15).