A vintage Shikishi board with a hand painted Chinese calligraphy design complete with an artists seal. Shikishi is a a traditional paper craft consisting of thick board surrounded by many layers of high quality washi paper, lending itself to traditional calligraphy technique as seen in this example!
Chinese calligraphy itself has been evolving for over 3000 years, starting from characters written on animal bones to the Shikishi boards shown today.
The calligraphy in this example has been suggested to be, “May your blessings be as vast as the Eastern Sea, and may you live as long as the Southern mountain.” A traditional Chinese New Year and birthday greeting wishing the person an endless ocean of happiness whilst their lifespan similar to the strength of the Southern mountains. Who doesn’t want such a spectacular wish on their birthday? Sadly, The Academic’s House does not yet house a linguistics department therefore we rely on less auspicious sources to confirm translations.
Overall the board is in good condition, complete with gold tone edge and a flecked washi to the back. It measures at approximately 27cm by 24cm as is traditional. If you need everything in your house to be sturdy, including the artwork, this is a perfect addition to your home!
