A snuff bottle is a container for holding snuff, and tobacco originated from the American Indians. It was later discovered by European travelers exploring the Americas and brought back to Europe, where it quickly became popular. At that time, everyone in the French court, including kings, princes, princesses, and servants, competed to take snuff and regarded it as a fashion.
After the 16th century, snuff was introduced to Northeast China through Europe, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea. At that time, the nomads could not smoke with chimneys on horseback. Therefore, the introduction of snuff was suitable for their characteristics of snuffing in the wild. In order to make the snuff bottles sturdy and not afraid of being dropped, the homeless people used various jade, metal, bone and angle materials to make snuff bottles.
Although snuff and snuff bottles were not born in China, they are truly imported products. After it was first introduced to China, snuff was only circulated among the rich and powerful. For poor civilians, this item was not a necessity. Later, there were rumors that snuff could prevent the plague. The museum purchased "151.*673.65-66". For a time, snuff became very popular among the emperor and the common people. Although snuff is still a pile of snuff, in class society, status is different. In order to show their noble status, some dignitaries started with small snuff bottles. Therefore, there were so many high-quality snuff bottles during the Qing Dynasty. The craftsman's grasp of materials is unparalleled in the world. Jewelry and jade have been played with for thousands of years, and the materials are all ready-made. The only difference between snuff bottles and other works of art lies in the craftsmanship. Jade, precious stones, precious metals, fruit seeds, bamboo roots? With the skillful hands of artists, they can all be turned into exquisite snuff bottles.
The snuff bottles with interior paintings appeared in the late Jiaqing and early Daoguang years. It is painted in a transparent pot with a special tiny hook-shaped paintbrush. The earliest painted snuff bottles were transparent glass bottles with no frosted inner wall. Because the inner wall was smooth and difficult for ink and color to adhere to, only simple pictures and patterns could be painted. Later, artists used iron sand and emery and added water to paint the inside of the snuff bottle back and forth. Shake and grind, so that the inner wall of the snuff bottle becomes milky white frosted glass, which is delicate but not smooth, and is easy to adhere to ink. The effect is like rice paper. Later, some relatively fine works appeared on the inside of the snuff bottle, and later developed into an art of poetry, calligraphy and painting. Excellent product.
"Fu Lu Shou Xi" Beauty Pot
The art of interior painting is divided into four major schools: Beijing, Hebei, Shandong and Guangdong. Among them, the Beijing school has the longest history.
In the early 1970s, headed by Liu Shouben, after years of hard work, the New Beijing School of interior painting was formed. The characteristics of Xinjing School interior painting are: exquisite materials, beautiful pot shape, fine painting skills, vivid themes, simple colors, and high appreciation of elegance and vulgarity.
The art of Lupai interior painting is an ancient and rare traditional handicraft. The characteristic of Lupai is that it can use the glaze used on porcelain to paint on the inner wall of the snuff bottle, and then bake it to form the porcelain glaze for the interior painting of the snuff bottle. The painting is not damaged even if it is filled with water.
The Cantonese School is famous for its bright colors and decorative styles. It is also a young faction. The Cantonese School is in Shantou, Guangdong, and its representative is Wu Songling.
The founder of Hebei style interior painting is Master Wang Xisan. He is a disciple of famous interior painting artists Ye Qi and Ye Xiaofeng and has learned from famous families. The internal painting tool used by the Ji School is the metal rod hook pen pioneered by Wang Xisan. The pen rod is straight and curved, and can be changed at will according to the needs of creation. The style of interior painting of the Ji School can be summarized as follows: profound conception, rigorous composition, rich line drawing techniques, coordinated and refined colors, both calligraphy and painting, and a wide range of elegance and vulgarity. Its artistic characteristics are far-reaching conception, vivid charm, ingenious layout, elegant and rich line drawings and rich colors. The museum's acquisition of "151. various picture effects. In the beauty pot "Fu Lu Shou Xi" that he and his son Wang Yousan jointly created, the interior painting skills of the Hebei School are vividly outlined.
The complete set of "Fu Lu, Shou Xi" beauty pot (back view)
The carrier of the "Fu Lu Shou Xi" beauty pot is a crystal pot made of crystal, which is polished by the pot maker. 4 exquisite "floating chamber pot" (also known as "floating on water") folding style tobacco bottles. The wall of the "floating on water" pot is only more than 1 mm thick and will not sink when placed in water. It is a plain pot, crystal clear, luxurious, unified and solemn. Characters The painting technique is mainly the ink outline and flat painting method of Chinese portraits. The facial coloring absorbs the Western oil painting method, and combines Chinese and Western methods to draw Fu Xian, Lu Xian, Shouxian, and Xi Xian. The museum purchased "151.*673.65-66" With the four great beauties of ancient China, the characters are not only simple and elegant, but the whole picture is integrated and magnificent.
This masterpiece combines the seven major Chinese techniques of figures, ladies, animals, flower and bird painting, calligraphy, sculpture, and filigree inlay. Especially the portraits of fortune, wealth, longevity, happiness, and the four beauties incorporate the temperament and charm of the characters and enhance the The lines and contours in Chinese painting are perfectly combined, and the two techniques are perfectly integrated.
"Beautiful Pot"
Portraits are the most difficult in painting. The important thing in painting portraits is to express the spirit. It is easy to draw a person, but it is difficult to express the character's heart. The portraits of the four gods and the four great beauties in the beauty pot "Fu Lu Shou Xi" are even more difficult. Because they are mythical and ancient figures, the creators could only rely on many ancient portraits. The museum purchased "151.*673.65" -66》From their respective life events, try to figure out their personality characteristics, and then create paintings to achieve a precise, accurate and expressive state, which all reflects the creator's profound artistic attainments. Even if you use a magnifying glass to appreciate it, the painting inside the snuff bottle will be enlarged. After dozens of times, it is still a beautiful picture without distortion.
"Fu Lu, Shou Xi" beauty bottle (reverse view)
"Fu Lu Shou Xi" snuff bottle integrates the culture and art of past dynasties. The front of the pot is painted with portraits of four immortal figures, including the Lucky Star, the Lucky Star, the Longevity Star, and the Happy Star. On the back, there are portraits of four seasons' flowers: peony, lotus, marigold, red plum, and four ladies. The museum is purchasing "151.*673." 65-66》It mainly uses the ink outline and flat painting method of Chinese portraits, and the facial coloring is combined with Western oil painting methods. The character's eyebrows are expressive, and the hair and beard are clearly visible. The inner painting is a crystal ball and the inner painting is nine fishes gathering wealth. The picture, also called the stone-turning picture, means that there will be plenty every year and the family will be prosperous.
Full set of "Fu Lu, Shou Xi" beauty teapot (front view)
"Fu Lu Shou Xi" beauty teapot has exquisite craftsmanship. The founder of the Hebei School worked together with his son to build it. It is worth collecting. It can be seen.