No excuse for posting this, other than these are some of the loveliest ceramic tiles I have ever seen.
They are on the walls at the edge of a courtyard in the Forbidden City, one of a group on the west side that has been recently renovated and re-opened to visitors. This particular wall is the Imperial Telephone Exchange (no, I didn't know that existed before today, either). The grouping of courtyards mostly consists of residential quarters of the former empress CiXi and her entourage.
The design is a Wanzi lattice, a familiar Chinese lattice design that can also be seen on wood carvings, carpets and other decorative objects. "Wanzi" means "ten thousand" and the design (like most things Chinese) has an auspicious meaning, in this case for the birth of many sons.
I have used a similar lattice (though without the slight compression seen here) in a traditional-contemporary carpet design: Chinese lattice design carpet.
They are on the walls at the edge of a courtyard in the Forbidden City, one of a group on the west side that has been recently renovated and re-opened to visitors. This particular wall is the Imperial Telephone Exchange (no, I didn't know that existed before today, either). The grouping of courtyards mostly consists of residential quarters of the former empress CiXi and her entourage.
The design is a Wanzi lattice, a familiar Chinese lattice design that can also be seen on wood carvings, carpets and other decorative objects. "Wanzi" means "ten thousand" and the design (like most things Chinese) has an auspicious meaning, in this case for the birth of many sons.
I have used a similar lattice (though without the slight compression seen here) in a traditional-contemporary carpet design: Chinese lattice design carpet.
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