SIX CENTURIES OF LIVING CLAY · HAND-PAINTED IN LIUYING VILLAGE · SHIPS WORLDWIDE
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LIUYING VILLAGE · SHAANXI, CHINA
Six Centuries of Living Clay
Traced to the Ming dynasty, Fengxiang clay sculpture has been shaped and painted by hand in one village for some 600 years. Every FOLKTERRA piece still is — and the craft has stood on China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage register since 2006.
National Intangible Cultural Heritage — listed 2006
Hand-painted with natural mineral pigments
Signed & numbered by the artisan
Museum-grade packing, shipped worldwide
An Art That Outlived Dynasties
Legend says Ming-dynasty soldiers stationed at Liuying began shaping the village’s river clay into figures, and the craft never left. Over the centuries, the seated tiger and the zodiac animals became part of New Year customs across northwest China, made to guard homes and carry good wishes into the year ahead. Today, Liuying artisans still shape, fire and paint every piece entirely by hand, in the same bold mineral colours.
- 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
Shop by collection
Zodiac Animals
Your birth-year animal, from the twelve-year cycle every Chinese child grows up with.
Auspicious Guardians
Tigers at the doorway, guardians on the shelf — figures made to watch over a home.
Home Decor Figurines
Storybook figures from opera and folklore, made to be lived with.
From clay to colour
1. Clay & Sculpt
Local clay is prepared and shaped by hand into the figure’s form.
2. Sun-dry & Fire
The figure is sun-dried, then fired in a kiln to harden the clay.
3. Hand-paint
Bold mineral colours are painted on brushstroke by brushstroke.
4. Sign & Number
Each finished piece is signed and numbered by the artisan.
From Liuying Village to your home
Fengxiang clay sculpture was inscribed on China’s National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006. In Liuying Village, artisans still shape, fire and paint each figurine by hand — a living tradition we are proud to share with collectors around the world.
Latest Pieces
Our first collection is on its way — check back soon for the first signed and numbered figurines.
The Zodiac Collection
Letters from Liuying
Stories from the artisans’ village, and first word on new pieces — no spam, just clay, colour and makers.