Red, white, and blue—does the vase before you look like a contemporary artwork? In fact, it was made in the Forbidden City during the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty. Translucent and cold to touch, glass is also pliable at high temperature and can be made into different utensils. However, glass was not as prized as porcelain and jade in ancient China and was only treated as a substitute for jade.
Glassmaking has a long history in China, dating back to Western Zhou and reaching its heyday in the Qing dynasty. In the Qing dynasty, the most delicate glass pieces came from the Imperial Workshops. The glass workshop was set up by the Kangxi Emperor with the assistance of Kilian Stumpf, a Jesuit missionary from Germany, and was further expanded under the Yongzheng reign. The glassware produced in the workshop were not only for the use of the emperor but also given to important officials as rewards. Although the glass workshop was initially led by missionaries, the Qing government also recruited top artisans from all over China to work with and receive advanced training from the missionaries. According to archival sources, some glassware production projects were overseen by Chinese artisans in the Yongzheng period.
This vase was made with a hot glass decorating technique that reached maturity in the Qianlong era. The complicated process was similar to that of Venetian glassmaking in Renaissance Italy. Like pulling candy, the artisans pulled hot glass of three different colours into thin tubes, cut them to the same length, and aligned them parallel to one another. They then glued the tubes onto the heated vase, which would be cooled and heated repeatedly. Look closely at the tri-coloured spiral pattern; the secret to such an even pattern is the carefully controlled spinning speed and strength during cooling.
© The Palace Museum
