Crane Spotting of a Different Kind!

It has been a while since I posted on the blog but thought I'd share some Crane images of a different kind with you! Recently some friends visited China and before they went I set them some homework! The task was to photograph as many Cranes motifs, pictures and sculptures as they could find. Knowing the Crane is a highly revered symbol in China symbolising longevity and peace - I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. I am amazed at how many different ways this iconic bird has been realised by different artists and crafts people and how it can be found almost everywhere you go, - on stonework, ceramics and many more objects and in many places.

Scroll down for all the photos my friends took (thank you friends) whilst out and about!

 All photographs copyright Deirdre Figueiredo, Helen Juffs and Theresa Simkin 2015.

Large bronze urn/vase at the Imperial Summer Palace Beijing.

Crane mosaic set into pavement.

Cranes painted above doorway, Beijing.

Stone panel at Yuyuan gardens, Shanghai.

Left: Cranes at Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai. Right: Cranes on vase at teapot museum.

Left: Cranes in Yuyuan Sculpture gardens, Shanghai. Right: Bronze Cranes stand outside the Summer Palace. 

Cranes depicted in wooden panel.

Crane motif set into pavement in Imperial Gardens of the Forbidden City.

Cranes depicted on this beautiful room screen / panel.

Left: Stone carvings in newly restored part of hutongs, Beijing. Right: Another Crane mosaic set into pavement.

Crane atop a wall at Yuyuan garden.

My friends were invited into the house of locals for tea and this beautiful print was hanging on the wall!

Left: Cranes above a doorway in Beijing. Right: view of the whole doorway.

Left: Crane head with wing and landscape. Centre and right: Painted beams. All photos Summer Palace.

Cranes depicted with trees in this unusual diorama. 

Another beautiful Crane landscape painted over a doorway.

Stone carving depicting Cranes and Landscape.