| Dazzling Colours |
| Intricate technique and beautiful craftsmanship characterized the arts of the time. Artisans bestowed their dexterity on complicated designs of creations of metal wares. Elaborate patterns combined with the scintillating gleam of the metal instilled an air of splendour to the pieces. A favourite of Empress Dowager, the porcelain wares with Ta Ya Studio mark exhibited a wild palette in its glazes-the base colour might come in purple, blue or green, complemented with animated depictions of birds and flowers. The colours strike a stark contrast against each other, imparting an air of avant-gardism. Such exciting pieces brimming with beauty and radiance attested to the incredulous agility of the artisans’ hands, the increasingly heavy emphasis placed on stimulating the senses as well as the prevalent passion for fine craftsmanship.
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Box with overglaze flower and bird design on purple ground, Ta-ya-chai mark Porceclain, Ching-te-chen ware
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| Ch'ing dynasty, Kuang-hsü mark and reign (1875-1908) |
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Flower-shaped vase with fish and dragon design on apple-green ground Porcelain, Ching-te-chen ware
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| Ch'ing Dynasty, Kuang-hsü mark and reign (1875-1908), |
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Gilded champlevé enamel box
Ch'ing Dynasty, 19th century |
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| Unsurpassed Dexterity |
Another important feature of the period’s arts and crafts is the underlying, relentless quest for rapid improvement and incredible craftsmanship, as if it were a competition where everyone gives their very best. Inner-painted glass snuff bottles-where one uses an extremely thin bamboo drawing instrument to depict meticulous pictures on the interior of the miniscule bottles began from the Chia-ch’ing period. Kuang-tung craftsmen specialized in fascinating products of ivory carving. Though possibly different in style and execution, the quintessential spirit remains aligned as both challenge the limits of human ability, attesting to a universal race for the impossible. Apart from artistic skill, craftsmen thoroughly showed off their capabilities of verisimilitude for the purpose of capturing the attention of the passerby.
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Four-tiered ivory box with openwork decoration
Ch'ing Dynasty, 19th century |
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| Class snuff bottle with inner-painted traveling
scene, painted by Chou Lo-yüan |
Ching Dynasy, ca. Kuang-hsu mark
and reign (1875-1908) |
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| Abundant Auspiciousness |
During this period, wares dripping in repeating motifs and endless patterns were most loved. Not only did imperial workshops often produce objects rich with symbols and signs of fortune, such tastes and preferences were pervasive among the common peoples as well. The culture of auspicious imagery has reached an unprecedented level of prevalence and all classes of society were thoroughly infected with it. The obsession is manifested in the excessive representation of such symbols on the art of the period, as if there were a deep-rooted fear of leaving anything out. Not only do they wish for inexhaustible riches, but they also wanted longevity, good fortune and for everything to be smooth and auspicious.
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| Jade pot with coral K’uei-hsing standing on a jade dragon-fish |
| Ch'ing Dynasty, 19th century |
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| Vase with gold painting on red glaze Porcelain. Ching-te-chen ware |
| Chia-ch'ing mark and reign (1796-1820) |
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| Foreign Impact |
The curiosity directed toward all foreign things persisted from the late Ming until the early Ch’ing dynasties. However, with the increased exposure to new things and the diversification of import methods, such an attitude experienced some change once the late Ch’ing period arrived. Exotic objects and cutting-edge technology were inducted without cessation and gradually blended into the daily life of the common people. At the end of the Ch’ing era, many states of substantial power applied pressure on both the political and economic realms, pushing for free commercial ports and open trading policies. Imports flowed into China in great volumes—designer goods carefully marketed as luxury items or items of a cheaper caliber mass-produced by machines. Forces from abroad stirred fluctuations into the quality and number of domestic output.
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A pair of painted enamel watches
inlaid with jewels |
| Europe, 19th century |
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| The Evolution of Craft Production |
Heavy importing deeply impacted the arts and crafts industry within China as local, plebeian handicrafts were being replaced by foreign machine-made merchandise. Original, local centers of craft production include Chiang-hsi’s Ching-te-chen, Ho-nan’s Yu-chou, Kuang-tung’s Fo-shan, Fu-chien’s Te-hua, etc. They either scurried to rearrange their infrastructure, formed corporations with the financial backing provided by the government, expanded their capital base and integrated management or had the government establish management institutions and design schools to buttress the arts and crafts industry. As a result, the works from that time were divided into two general categories: one characterized by low-cost manufacturing, mass-produced according to popular taste and a kind of regular, daily object that followed fashion trends, another characterized by a higher quality, sophisticated rendering and a sort of expensive, decorative luxury item. One can say that the efforts expended on shifting the artistic direction were rewarded with positive results and the production of arts and crafts is one major step closer to the journey toward modernity.
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| White-glazed incense burner with animal mask design Porcelain, Tehua ware of Fukien |
| Ch’ing Dynasty, 18th-19th century |
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| Plate with underglaze blue decoration of flowers Porcelain, Tehua ware of Fu-chien |
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| Ch’ing Dynasty, 19th century |
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