The use of Agarwood in Non Islamic traditions

[masstika]

I recently came across an amazing exhibition that took place last year in Hong Kong titled Peace and Harmony. It featured 108 Agarwood artifacts part of Dr. Paul Kan, Chair of Champion Technology Group, tracing an analogy between life and agarwood. The exhibition is astounding in its depth and beauty. take a look at some of the pieces and use the pull down menu to leaf through it all. Be Patient as it takes time to load the pages but I promise you, It is WORTH IT.

I can't imagine to be in the middle of this exhibition and surrounded by so many pieces like that with maybe some Oud burning in the background...ahhh
http://www.xiang-he.org/aloe_exhibition/artifacts_cat.php?cat=B&file=cat-B-5

 

[str8shooter]

Awesome info!!!

 

[masstika]

Thanks Str8shooter. I am just surprised by the lack of feed back. I guess others are only into burning it or oil'ing it ;-)

 

[str8shooter]

I thought it was amazing!!! sad to see such wood only and mostly going to the east now though. $$$$

Paul

 

[masstika]

I think though that this specific high quality of Agarwood have always went to East. I am not aware of any middle east high caliber Oud collectors like this. Some sheilks and prince might have few amazingly old and resinous pieces but they are viewed more with burning and incense in mind vs. the approach to and what is appreciated with collectors in China and Japan.
I was wondering how are those pieces evaluated? age, shape, size and resin appearance and patterns??? I'll be interested in knowing how do they maintain them? another unsung hero is the carvers that release the log or the branch from it's "impurities" to reveal it's inner beauty. There must some sort of super "star" carver that others refer to out there; anyone knows of any?

 

[Igor01]

This is a mind-blowing display, both in terms of the rarity and artistic beauty. What a sad state of affairs though that we can feast our eyes on this beauty only by looking at pictures of an exclusive exhibition. Thank you for sharing this link, Masstika.

 

[Kruger]

Wow! Just finished watching the video. Many of the displays are way bigger than I imagined. Incredible stuff!!

When was this exhibition held... and why weren't we there??

 

[Kruger]

Ok, I see it was held round this time last year

masstika, if you could do the honours and contact the organizers to pose the question I’m sure is on everyone's mind... where did all that carving dust go???

 

[masstika]

I did try to get in touch with them to at least purchase the catalogue but I have not heard back from them yet. I think the carving dust is probably used in medication and some are even smoked. I read in more than one article that a lot of men would "spike their cigarettes with a shard or two of high grade (Kyara...i.e.). They say it has a calming effect in addition to spreading the good smell around. I have also watched Videos of High grade and antique Agarwood stores in Hong Kong where the customers test the Agarwood by placing a small/tiny piece below their tongue. I tried that only with the green Kyara and it has a numbing/anesthetic effect on the gum and tongue. It is bitter and slightly acidic.

 

[masstika]

More beautiful and antique Agarwood

http://www.trocadero.com/tretslbj/items/734355/en1.html

and beautiful rosaries

http://www.obgame.com/seller/xiangdao_no1/?minPrice=&maxPrice=&minScore=&maxScore=&quantity=&sorttype=price%3Aasc&catId=&SearchText=&seller=xiangdao_no1&props=&p=8

 

[Ensar Oud]

Very interesting links, masstika. The miniature reminds me of a log I got in Koh Kong a few years back. Red and solid resin striations.

As for the price of the rosaries.... WOW! $29,000 for seventeen beads that small!

Anyone possessed of intellect can deduce how CHEAP the vintage oils distilled from that very same wood are going for in the current market. Though it seems like some of our Gaharu Marketplace 'entrepreneurs' have already got a whiff of what's going down. : )

 

[masstika]

That Log you got must have formidable. When the wood gets resinated and old like this I feels as if it has been Alchemically transferred and imbued with energy and as much as I am resisting to admit it but I would have to agree with you regarding the relativity moderate prizing of the oil when you compare it to the prize of the carved wood pieces or the beads. But I think only time will tell if those prizing are sustainable.

Could the discrepancy in prizing between Oil and Wood be attributed to the fact that the oil is consumable and as such it will eventually runs out where as the pieces or rosaries could be passed on to off springs as heritage and therefore has more Longevity and Durability)? Additionally I think Culture, Tradition and Demand all play a big part; for some one not familiar with the cultural significance of the Aloeswood for example those prizes would seem unwarranted.

Ensar, You have posted the picture of some beautiful agarawood rosaries on your Blog recently, what do you think of the level of craftsmanship you've encountered? Personally, I do not find the rosaries shown on my link to be very beautiful in terms of craftsmanship in comparison to say Turkish bead carver masters or some of the Indonesian master Carvers.

Finally, Does anyone know if there is a reason why the mala/beads look that way (Circular vs. oval) in the Buddhist Tradition?

 

[Oudiferous]

Masstika, the malas used in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are always circular. I believe that for Buddhists this likely has something to do with the significance of the circle in their symbolic language, i.e., the wheel of Dharma, the circle of life, the cycle of birth and death. In Hinduism, the circular imagery carries similar force in demonstrating completeness, wholeness, attributes of the Divine.

 

[Ensar Oud]

Could the discrepancy in prizing between Oil and Wood be attributed to the fact that the oil is consumable and as such it will eventually runs out where as the pieces or rosaries could be passed on to off springs as heritage and therefore has more Longevity and Durability)?

Ensar, You have posted the picture of some beautiful agarawood rosaries on your Blog recently, what do you think of the level of craftsmanship you've encountered?

I'd say the oil is underpriced mainly because of the standard practices in oud oil extraction, which is to distill oil from $5 - $20 / kg oud wood. In a market where even such oil is rarely found in pure form, but is often modified or admixed with other aromatics and/or cutting agents, oil extracted from premium grade wood (like the dust collected while carving the rosaries) is often seen as an anomaly, or something not warranting the price tag. Carvings / rosaries are kept as 'good luck' charms, oil is used as an aromatic. Very different markets.

I think the craftsmanship that goes into carving agarwood beads is literally the poorest that goes into bead production the world over. I've seen masterpieces of bead carving in Turkey, where I've met and worked with several renowned masters of tasbih (Muslim prayer beads). I've also seen beads carved in Egypt, on a much lower level of perfection. Both traditions far outstrip the Chinese manufacture of mala beads, which are treated as any rock substance subjected to water pressure and spun on an automatic, though primitive, carving machine. The Turkish masters pride themselves on spinning their beads on a lathe, which is controlled and worked by hand, literally shaping the beads with a knife they apply as the lathe turns.

 

[masstika]

Thank you Oudiferous and Ensar for your feedback. It is interesting to note that this inferior craftsmanship you talk about seem to be limited to making beads because they obviously excel in carving as the numerous work done in Ivory and wood testifies. But I guess the craft did no develop because there was no demand. I have an informative link here for a video on YouTube about bead making in Vietnam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTBdqoOPGmU

I also found some interesting magnified close up photo of the bead showing the porous surface and the resin magnified x50.