Page 240 - Chinese Art, Vol II By Stephen W. Bushell

68 CHINESE ART.

of chalcedony, with grotesque goldfish cut through the red, dates
from the Ch'ien Lung period (1736-95). The one in Fig. 80 is made
of white and blue glass, with a floral pattern of lilies cut through
the former. The third, illustrated in Fig. 81, displays a combina"
tion of amber and clear glass, with the double hsi character mono-
gram, suggestive of wedded bhss, cut through the amber layer.
The last two snuff-bottles, bought in 1880, are described as 19th
century examples, " fashioned in Peking from material prepared
in Shantung." The fourth of the series, Fig. 82, has a semi-opaque
white body, with a superimposed layer of cobalt-blue cut through
to make ringed mask-handles and an oval-rimmed foot, and into
the pa kua, the eight trigrams of ancient Chinese philosophy
arranged in a circle with the yin yang symbol—the creative monad
dividing into its male and female elements—in the centre. The
technique of these little bottles is the same as that of the celebrated
Portland vase in the British Museum, which dates from classical
times, and is no doubt a production of the school from which the
Chinese learned their first lesson, whether directly or indirectly.
But objects of carved glass of such large size as the Portland vase are
very rare in China. The smallest pieces of old work, when artistically
finished, are costly enough, and a Manchu exquisite will give a large
simi for a snuff-bottle or pendant for his girdle, or for an archer's ring
for his thumb. The most highly appreciated of these are carved,
cameo-fashion, in many jewel-like tints, the coloured glasses being
dotted in molten drops over the field, to be afterwards shaped on the
lapidary's wheel into the details of a general scheme of decoration.
The charms with felicitous inscriptions which the Chinese wear
strung on their girdles are often moulded in coloured glass. Three
medallions shaped like the ordinary Chinese copper " cash " are
illustrated in Fig. 83, with embossed inscriptions, reading— (i)
" "
T'ien hsiang chi jl-n, May the celestial sign be propitious to man ;
" "
(2) T'ien hsien sung tzii, May the celestial divinities send sons !
(3) Lien chung san yuan, " A succession of first places at the three