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Yingmu
This is a term that has found increasing use in the western an9ques trade over the last decade. Its adop9on has been provoked by two factors, the increasing appearance of wealthy Chinese bidders in Western auc9ons keen to repatriate their cultural heritage and the convenient fact that a precise iden9fica9on of the wood species is not required. The term means ‘burl’, a nobbly lump which is not exclusive to any par9cular tree species. It can appear on many types of trees for reasons that aren’t clear. It usually forms on the trunk and doesn’t seem to have any adverse effect on the health of the tree. The internal structure is of a wild and undiciplined grain much admired by connoiseurs. The interlocked nature of the grain within a burl makes it very resistant to spliang or cracking and its appearance, when polished, is very aOrac9ve. It is par9cularly suited to the produc9on of wooden bowls and similar which can be turned on a lathe. A huge burl would be needed to produce a plank or panel suitable for use in furniture so it is more frequently found in smaller items such as boxes or brush pots such as those illustrated on the following pages.
Quite oIen, small suckers sprout from burls and the result inside the burl is a structure looking like a small eye hence the features which cause bird’s eye maple to have its name. They are undoubtedly the cause of the ‘ghost faces’ frequently associated with Huanghuali and not typical of the larger boards harvested from the trunk of an unblemished tree.
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18thC Yingmu Brush pot made of huali wood. The burl can be seen completely encircling the trunk or branch.
(Author’s Collection)
Yingmu circular box showing the complete anatomy of the burl from the core to the exterior. This can be stated with certainty even though the type of wood and age are unknown.
(Author’s Collection)
