Ceramics and Glass Circle of Australia

RADIANT REFLECTIONS IN CHINESE GLASS

By Patricia Begg and Margaret Cone

With Contributions by John Scarce

Published by the Ceramics and Glass Circle of Australia Inc.
P.O. Box 243 Hawksburn 3142

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Editor: Chris Begg
Photography: Rick Merrie
Cover design: Amanda Roach Design
Produced by Ceramics and Glass Circle of Australia Inc.

Using pieces from:
Five private collections
Hamilton Art Gallery

CONTENTS

Authors’ Introduction by Patricia Begg and Margaret Cone
A Brief History of Chinese Glass by John Scarce
Catalogue:

Clear Glass
White Glass
Pink Glass
Amethyst-coloured Glass
Amber-coloured Glass
Realgar-coloured Glass
Rhodonite-coloured Glass
Transparent Dark-blue Glass
Opaque Yellow Glass
Opaque Green Glass
Transparent Red Glass
Bright Blue Glass
Clear Green Glass
Carved Overlaid Glass
Snuff Bottles
Manchu Hat Knobs

Bibliography

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Ceramic and Glass Circle of Australia wishes to thank the many people who have given their support in the preparation of both the exhibition and catalogue of “Radiant Reflections in Chinese Glass”.

We are grateful for the three venues that have so generously made gallery space available for the exhibition. These are the Geelong Art Gallery, the Gold Treasury Museum and the Hamilton Art Gallery.

Arts Victoria have accepted our application to provide static insurance whilst the exhibition is mounted in the three galleries and for this we are most grateful.

There have been twenty-four donors to the Ceramic and Glass Circle’s Cultural Fund during the last six months. Their generosity is most appreciated and provides the main resource from which we can fund the mounting of exhibitions.

Of course, an exhibition would not be possible without both public and private collections being made available for our use. Five private and one public collection have contributed their Chinese glass pieces. The public collection is the Hamilton Art Gallery. The private collectors are all members of the Ceramics and Glass Circle of Australia. There are also four members of the Circle who have generously loaned items other than glass in order to enhance the story of the exhibition.

An exhibition of this size is not possible without a loyal and willing team of assistants who assist in curatorial tasks, in particular Neil Keir is thanked for the preparation of display equipment.

The catalogue has been enhanced with a contribution by John Scarce. Our thanks also go to Amanda Roach Design for the cover, Rick Merrie for photography and to Chris Begg for editing and layout. Amanda Roach Design is also thanked for the banner design.

Patricia Begg and Margaret Cone

AUTHORS' INTRODUCTION

The Ceramics and Glass Circle of Australia was formed seventeen years ago to provide a focus for people interested in ceramics and glass. The aim of the group is to build its members’ understanding of a wide variety of ceramics and glass, and of the life, times, customs and beliefs of the period in which they were made.

The group has grown from a small band of loyal supporters to about 160 who mostly come from Victoria, with ten percent from interstate and overseas. Our membership is an exciting and buoyant group, with enormous enthusiasm for the acquisition of knowledge and the sharing of their collections.

The Circle, some ten years ago, believed it needed to educate, not only its own members, but also the wider community. It achieved this by offering exhibitions, on specific subjects of ceramics and glass, to the Regional Galleries of Victoria. The Directors of these galleries embraced the idea with enthusiasm, resulting in eleven exhibitions being mounted over this period. Each exhibition toured to two or three of Victoria’s galleries. These galleries included The National Gallery of Victoria, the Gold Treasury Museum, the Geelong Art Gallery, the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, the Hamilton Art Gallery and the Bendigo Art Gallery.

Why an exhibition of Chinese glass? At a Circle meeting about four years ago a new member was welcomed to the Circle and a suggestion made that he speak to one of our meetings on a subject close to his heart, Chinese glass. He rejected the suggestion and, instead, made an offer to lend his collection as an educational resource. After much conversation and planning we present “Radiant Reflections in Chinese Glass”. This is the first glass exhibition installed by the Circle and is the first Chinese glass exhibition in Australia and one of the few in the last ten years anywhere in the world.

To our delight, the initial request to Circle members for their support in supplementing this collection, as well as a generous offer from the Hamilton Art Gallery to use their collection resulted in additional pieces becoming available so we are now able to display 115 objects showing a great variety of design, shape and colour.

We were greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm of the Geelong Art Gallery to provide a suitable venue. Interest in the exhibition was further extended when we were approached by the Gold Treasury Museum to move the exhibition to Melbourne and an offer was also made to the Hamilton Art Gallery.

Glass making in China has a long and somewhat interrupted history, with attempts to make glass being made as far back as Han and Tang Dynasties (206 BC to 907 AD). The most significant period of development, and the period that this exhibition shows, is that of the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912).

Under the Imperial Household Department, specialist studios were established to produce objects in gold, jade, ivory, lacquer as well as many other decorative mediums. In the seventeenth century, with the encouragement of the second Manchu Qing Emperor Kangxi (1662 – 1772), Jesuit missionaries brought European technology to establish glass workshops in the grounds of the Forbidden City carrying out much experimentation.

The influence on early Qing glass is very much European, the use of colloid of gold as an early colourant and faceting as a means of ornamentation were used. Gradually the use of traditional Chinese decorative ideas became more popular and ultimately provided the unique quality and appearance of glass made in China for the Imperial Court.

Under the influence of Kangxi enamelled decoration on copper and porcelain using the new famille rose palette was developed. This technique was extended to glass. During the Qianlong Period internal enamelling as a way of decorating vessels, such as snuff bottles, was perfected and remained popular throughout the remainder of the Qing Dynasty.

The exciting and vibrant colours found in Chinese glass take their inspiration from minerals such as ruby, amethyst, rose quartz, sapphire and green jade. Egg yolk yellow was also used, as it was the favoured colour o the Imperial Court. The texture of precious minerals such as jade (nephrite), jadeite, amethyst, rhodenite, realger and rock crystal were emulated. Amber was also copied.

The skill of the jade and rock crystal carvers was used in the decoration of blown, moulded and overlayed glass. This created the unique quality of Chinese glass decoration.

The shapes of many of the glass objects were copied from bronze, jade and porcelain. Glass appears to have been mainly used for decorative and ornamental items rather than for cups and bowls.

The objects made were for the use in, and decoration of, the Imperial Court and for gifts from the Emperor on special occasions. Glass buckles, belt hooks, hair-pins, head dress ornaments and beads were also used as part of Court costume.

Buddhist beliefs, in the form of symbolic decoration play an important part in glass decoration as it does with all Chinese ornamentation. Glass making, itself, which uses heat from the fire to create a man made material was usually laden with symbolic meaning - averting evil forces or granting immortality.

The materials and processes used were both difficult and dangerous, requiring much experimentation and involvement with hazardous materials. Through their risk taking and meticulous eye for detail the Chinese glass maker has left the world with an amazing legacy of this fascinating and highly decorative art form.

Radiant Reflections in Chinese Glass provides a glimpse of many of the colours, techniques and decorative ornamentation of this great period of glass making in the Qing Dynasty.

By Patricia Begg and Margaret Cone