Our Craft

Fengxiang clay figurines — Fengxiang nisu — come from Liuying Village, in Fengxiang District, Baoji, Shaanxi Province. For generations, families in this small village have shaped clay into figures for festivals, celebrations and the home. The craft grew out of everyday folk life: animals, guardians, opera figures and symbols of good fortune, made to be seen, enjoyed and kept close.

The work begins with the clay itself. Artisans prepare local clay, working it until it is soft, even and ready to hold a shape. The figure is then formed by hand, often with the help of a mould for its basic form, before the maker refines it — smoothing surfaces, shaping ears, tails, robes and expressions, and adding the small details that give each figure its character. This stage, sometimes called moulding and refining the blank form, is where a simple lump of earth first becomes an animal or a guardian.

Once shaped, the figure is left to dry in the sun. Slow, careful drying matters: if it dries too fast, the clay can crack. When it is fully dry, it is fired in a kiln. Firing hardens the clay and makes it ready for painting, turning a fragile form into a lasting object that can be displayed for years.

Painting is where Fengxiang clay art becomes unmistakable. Artisans paint by hand with bold mineral colours — strong reds, greens, yellows and blacks — and with clear, confident brushstrokes. Patterns are simple and rhythmic: dots, lines, flowers and geometric shapes that follow the form of the figure rather than hiding it. The result is joyful and direct, a style shaped by folk art rather than by fine, photographic detail.

In 2006, Fengxiang clay sculpture was inscribed on China’s National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. That recognition honours not only the finished figurines, but the knowledge carried by the makers: how to prepare clay, how to shape and fire it, and how to paint in a tradition learned by watching, practising and passing skills from one generation to the next.

At FOLKTERRA, we keep that human scale. Each figurine is signed and numbered by the artisan, and each one is accompanied by a numbered certificate, so collectors know they are receiving a finished, individual work rather than an identical factory copy. Small differences in shape, colour and brushwork are expected — they are the marks of a hand at work.

Please enjoy these figurines as decorative art. They are decorative only and are not toys. Display them in a stable place, away from direct sunlight and damp, and out of reach of small children, so their colour and detail can be enjoyed for a long time.

Six Centuries in Four Moments

• c. 1400s — Ming-dynasty soldiers stationed at Liuying begin shaping river clay into figures
• 1700s–1900s — Village workshops flourish; the seated tiger and zodiac animals anchor New Year customs across northwest China
• 2006 — Fengxiang clay sculpture enters China’s first National Intangible Cultural Heritage list
• Today — Liuying artisans paint the same five mineral colours for collectors around the world

The Language of Colour

The bold, high-contrast palette of Fengxiang clay art is its signature. Five mineral colours — red, yellow, green, white and black — are laid on in flat, confident brushstrokes, so a tiger’s stripes, a rooster’s comb or a guardian’s robe can be read at a glance. The colours are more than decoration: red carries joy and good fortune, yellow warmth and harvest, green growth and renewal, white clarity and black steadiness, so every figure arrives carrying a blessing as well as a story.