Fascinated by a Chinese Walnut

December 2017 Art | Culture

Story and illustration by Talya Dahan Dunleavy

A friend told me that he had seen a beautiful carved Chinese walnut on TV's antiques Road show. He was fascinated by it. This sparked my interest and i decided to collect them.

I was always drawn to Chinese culture and history. Sure enough, my lucky day arrived and I became the proud owner of an antique carved Chinese walnut. It now sits happily in my display cabinet and I enjoy it whenever I pass by.

My walnut was carved over a hundred years ago in the last days of the Ching dynasty in china. It was a very different world from ours.

I can imagine the carver sitting on the steps of a tiny workshop, in the middle of a bustling Chinese market. Maybe it was in Peking, a great commercial center. The voices of thousands of people, birds and other animals, mix with the clanking sound of rapid footsteps. The delicious smells make me hungry.

My walnut still has a beautiful faint aroma. It is carved with figures of immortals and flowers. It stands 1.75 tall and wide. The round carved wooden stand matches it perfectly. The walnut is a deep tobacco color. It has a patina of over a century of handling and oxidation. All the sharp edges are gone. They have been smoothed off by the skin of human hands.

Did people carry these in their pockets for good luck? I imagine that they did. Maybe they would rub it while gambling, wishing it would bring them a great fortune.

My walnut is so light, only 12 grams, yet it is so sturdy and durable. It is slightly warm to the touch, not hard as a stone carving would be. The seed is gone from the closed shell, probably by some Chinese ingenuity. My walnut has been in so many interesting places and it wants to tell me stories. I listen.

Someday I might write a book about my walnut's life.

About the author

Talya Dahan Dunleavy

Talya Dahan Dunleavy was the first daughter born in Kibbutz Reim, in 1952. Her cousin Noam Bensaid, Alexis son, was the first son of Kibbutz Reim. In 1957 They moved to Mitspe Ramon with a group of families from Kibbutz Reim. They lived in prefabricated asbestos barracks at first. School was one room. There were no modern amenities or comforts. Life in Mitspe was about survival under harsh conditions. As a child she fell in love with the breathtaking scenery and nature surrounding Mitspe.

Her family left it in 1963 and moved to Beersheva. Talya has always wanted to go back to Mitspe to live there. She has lived abroad since 1973, 43 years now, raising her two sons, creating and studying. She is an artist and jewelry designer.

Talya lives in Deerfield Beach, Florida and is currently studying Sociology at Florida Atlantic University.