Hobbies And Interests
Origins
During the reign of Qing Dynasty Emporer Kangxi (1662-1722), the Western habit of using snuff penetrated the Imperial Forbidden City. The Imperial Workshop produced tiny decorative snuff bottles for the royal family to use as receptacles for this powered form of tobacco. The snuff bottles were also presented by royals as gifts to ministers of the royal court and foreign diplomats. The glass factory that produced Peking Glass was established in 1696, under the direction of Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720), a Jesuit missionary who studied theology in Mainz and went on a mission to China in 1688.
Peak Period
The height of the art form occurred during the reign of Quianlong (1736-1795), which is why Peking Glass is called Quianlong Glass in Japanese art society. The peak period of the workshop in terms of both quality and quantity was between 1740 and 1760, according to the Metropolitan Museum bulletin "Asian Art." After this peak, many later works were copies of earlier masterpieces, says Scanlan Fine Arts.com.
Process
The time-consuming, labor-intensive process of making Peking Glass involves dipping a one-color glass base into contrasting-colored glass a layer at a time. The artist carves away portions of the overlaid glass revealing the layers of other colors beneath, and creating beautiful designs. The traditional base glass types are Opaque white, Pearl white (which is clear with snowy speckles), Clear Imperial yellow and Wine red (which is transparent). Contemporary Peking Glass may use black or dark red base colors, among others. The overlay glass typically uses bright colors, such as green, yellow and blue, although white and dark brown can also be found.
Symbolism
Some of the classic subjects of Peking Glass works have traditional meanings as well as visual appeal. Boats in water, for example, imply smooth sailing. A joyous dragon and phoenix indicate mating and harmony. Cranes and peaches both mean longevity, fish mean bounty, and a lotus may mean harmony or continuity. A fish and a lotus together would mean continuous bounty, or wealth year after year.
Collecting
Because the workers who produced these masterpieces were considered laborers, they rarely left their names on the pieces. Pieces produced by the Qing Dynasty Imperial Workshops were labeled Kangxi or Quianlong. Royal labels do not necessarily mean vintage imperial work, however, since even contemporary works that are new designs rather than copies often bear Quianlong labels, according to Scanlan Fine Arts.com. Genuine 18th-century Chinese glass snuff bottles range from $5,000 to $10,000 as of 2009, and have been rising in price due to the finite period of their production, collector Vincent Fausone, Jr. told Collector's Weekly.