Wenbo Time and Space Author: Wu HaoChinese glass began in the Western Zhou Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. In the thirty-fifth year of the Kangxi reign (1690), the glass factory of the Qing Palace Office was completed. During the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, Chinese craftsmen combined Chinese and Western elements to create a unique style of glassware. With the decline of the national power of the late Qing Dynasty, the production of glass in the Qing Palace gradually declined, but a large number of Western and Oriental glass products entered the Forbidden City. The delicate and precious glassware of the Qing Dynasty court has gradually changed to everyday colors. The color of glass in the Qing Dynasty is gorgeous and the shape is rich, which is unprecedented in the history of Chinese glass in the past.
Purple transparent ground glass slag bucket in the middle of the Qing Dynasty.
Green transparent ground glass slag hopper (front view) Mid-Qing Dynasty.
Green transparent ground glass slag bucket in the middle of the Qing Dynasty.
Brown transparent ground glass slag hopper (front view) Mid-Qing Dynasty.
Brown transparent ground glass slag bucket in the middle of the Qing Dynasty.
Blue transparent glass square goose Qing Qianlong.
Blue transparent glass square goblet (detail) Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.
Royal blue transparent glass bottle Qing Qianlong.
Sky blue clear glass flower mouth amphora clear.
Sky blue clear glass flower mouth amphora (detail) clear.
Western blue clear glass lid bowl 19th century Europe.
Yellow glass double-land bottle Qing Qianlong.
Western clear glass chrysanthemum pattern vase 19th century Europe.
Western clear glass chrysanthemum pattern vase (detail) 19th century Europe.
White set red glass banana leaf entwined flower butterfly pattern amphora Qing Qianlong.
White set red glass peach bat pattern bottle Qing Qianlong.
White set red glass double dragon catch pearl pattern jade pot spring bottle Qing Qianlong.
White set blue glass dragon and phoenix pattern bottle Qing Qianlong.
Complex blowing operations
Yanshan Miscellaneous Records and Colored Glass" records that the Ming Dynasty had the production of "empty genus" of the bubble lamp, fish bottle, Buddha eye and other blowing utensils, and now only the Ming Dynasty molded glass imitation jade accessories. The Qing Dynasty introduced European glass formulas, which allowed for complex blowing operations. In addition to free-blowing small utensils, mold blowing is an important means of making complex utensils. Use a metal blowpipe dipped in the frit to blow into the instrument, and after forming, it is denormalized and polished, supplemented by carving and painting.
Blue clear glass octagonal bottle Qing Yongzheng.
All kinds of glass fruits are cleared.
All kinds of glass fruit offerings (detail drawing) clear.
Four-color glass bottle Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.
set of glass
set of glassIt is a combination of glass full set technology and engraving process, with the color of the tire core in the front and the color of the coat in the back. It can be subdivided into two: one is monochrome glass in the monochrome glass coat; The second is the "concurrent set", which is made by partially gluing a variety of molten colored glass on the carcass and then partially carved.
White set of stained glass double bat pattern melon type water Cheng Qing Qianlong.
Yellow set of green glass grasshopper pod pattern snuff bottle clear.
White set blue glass banana leaf entwined flower pattern amphora Qing Qianlong.
White set blue glass banana leaf entwined flower pattern amphora (detail) Qing Qianlong.
White set of blue glass entwined branch lotus pattern bowl Qing Qianlong.
White set of blue glass entwined branch lotus pattern bowl (detail drawing) Qing Qianlong.
Stained glass paintings
Stained glass paintingsSince the picture is presented under the glass, the painting process needs to follow the order of detail expression first and then color background blending, which is contrary to the normal painting process. On this basis, the late Qing Dynasty rapidly developed the technique of painting with elbow nibs, which was commonly used in small utensils such as snuff bottles.
Western lady picture glass painting clear.
Western lady picture glass painting (detail) Qing.
Ploughing and weaving drawings are painted with glass.
Cultivation and weaving glass painting (detail) Qing.
Engraved glass
Engraved glassIt is roughly divided into diamond engraving process and car engraving process. There is a small amount of diamond carved glass in the Kangxi period. The technique originated in Venice in the early 16th century, where the glass surface was carved with a brush with a diamond inlay head. During the Yongzheng period, carved glass borrowed a lot from the traditional jade carving process, which is commonly known as the "car carving process" today.
Western royal blue clear glass engraved grass pattern bottle 19th century Europe.
Western royal blue clear glass engraved grass pattern vase (detail) 19th century Europe.
Amber transparent glass engraved butterfly pattern cup Qing Qianlong.
Transparent glass engraved fruit pattern goblet clear.
Transparent glass engraved fruit pattern goblet (detail) clear.
Gilded glass
Gilded glassIt refers to the surface of the monochrome glassware, which is made of slender and uniform Yin lines, and then the gold glue is punched in the ** strip and the gold leaf is applied to make it becomeGold textureof the process. This process was developed by borrowing lacquerware technology and was a unique decoration of court glass in the Qing Dynasty.
Sky blue glass gold entwined branch pattern furnace Qing Qianlong.
Sky blue glass gold twig pattern vase Qing Qianlong.
Venus Glass
Venus GlassNamed for the glittering crystalline particles in its body, it was a new variety of glass that first emerged in Venice in the 15th century, and was called "Wendurina Stone" or "Kashlon" in Qing court archives. In the early years of Qianlong, this variety was successfully fired in a glass factory under the guidance of missionaries. Due to its high hardness and difficulty in blowing, most of the existing Venus glassware is carved by the jade method, and a few utensils are inlaid with Venus glass sheets on the outside of the metal tire.
Copper tire inlaid Venus glass ice crack pen holder clear.
Copper tire inlaid Venus glass ice crack pen holder (detail) clear.
Venus glass carved cloud phoenix pattern double water flower arrangement.
More beautiful artefacts
White glass red dot flower pot clear.
White glass winding colored silk glass spiral bottle Qing Qianlong.
White glass spiral bottle with colored silk glass (detail) Qing Qianlong.
Glass fetal painting enamel flower and bird vase Qing Qianlong.
Point emerald inlaid glass descendants of Wandai tattoo head flower clear.
Fei snow set red glass longevity bracelet clear.
Transparent glass carved lying lion pounces on the ball clear.
Western color filament glass amphora bottle 18th century Venice.
Western colored silk wrapped glass amphora (detail) 18th century Venice.
How to visit the exhibition
Guardian Art Center's "Cheng Ning Qiongying - Glass Masterpieces from the Palace Museum".
The exhibition selects more than 120 pieces (sets) of glass relics from the Palace Museum's collection, and uses three units: "Yao Yan Reflecting Color", "Bursting Fire and Flowing Gold", and "Flowing Scenery and Condensing Xia", showing the color, shape, decoration, craftsmanship and use of glass boutiques in court life in various aspects.
Exhibition period: December 23, 2023 to March 10, 2024.
Exhibition Location: 1st Floor, Guardian Art Center (No. 1, Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing).
* Du Guanglei and Wu Hao.
Typography |Xiao Xie.
Design |Zitong.