Page 239 - Chinese Art, Vol II By Stephen W. Bushell

GLASS. 67

vases and shaped cups and dishes that are often moulded in this
material are intended to stand beside the ink palette of the scholarly
writer.and are specially designed to please hisfancy . Theyare fashioned
in the shape of an egg, of a magnolia blossom, or of a tilted lotus
leaf : decorated in relief, outside, with an archaic dragon, a phoenix,
a spray of primus, or some other emblematic flower, or with some
appropriate monogram, withasacrcd Buddhistor Taoist symbol. The
snuff-bottles are more varied in their sculptured designs, being
decorated, according to the fancy of the glyptic artist, with flowers,
animals, familiar scenes, or landscapes, lightly projected on aground
of contrasted shade. A snuff bottle of plain glass is occasionally
painted by hand with the picture pencilled in sepia or filled in with
colours. In this case the colours are painted on inside to preserve
them from friction ; the execution of the brush work through the
narrow opening of the bottle on the inner surface of the glass being
a perfect marvel of skill and patience triumphing over self-imposed
restrictions, such as only a Chinese artist could delight in and bring
to a successful result.
Among the single colours yellow is perhaps the favourite,
especially in the imperial manufactory. Two usual forms, moulded
in yellow semi-opaque glass are exhibited in Fig. 77 ; on the left, an
incens.e- burner (ling) with globular body and mask handles sup-
ported on three legs ; on the right, a small flower vase (hua-p'ing)
with an ovoid body of gracefully curved outline and two handles
attached, fashioned as monsters' heads. A snuff-bottle of oval
outline, with flattened sides variegated in colour to simulate
tortoiseshell, is represented in Fig. 78 ; it is described as made of
red and yellow mottled opaque glass and mounted with a silver
cover.
The remaining four snuff-bottles figured here are made of two
layers of different colour, in order that the design cut in the outer
layer may be projected on a background of contrasted tint. The
snuff-bottle in Fig. 79, made of red and white glass, in imitation
89t1. 2