Reusable Plastic Tumblers

When looking down at the neck of one of these bottles you can clearly see these three layers. A continuous scene of fish amongst aquatic plants was painted in red, gold, pink; white, green and grisaille dated 1896 and signed Chu Chan-Yuan.

For our own collection I felt that we should have one or two examples and I was lucky enough to buy the earliest known, dated and signed inside painted bottle by Kan Huan-Wen. Creating many unusual bottles ranging from transparent to white as backgrounds for color overlay work.The first bottles we decided to buy that were not carved out of stone were made of glass. However the Emperor Chien-Lung had a favorite color that he decreed could only be used by the Imperial family and this was an opaque shade of yellow that is now referred to as `Imperial Yellow'. Such colors as sapphire blue and ruby red seem to have been the most popular of the earliest ones. They were made later and date back from the second half of the 19th century. Quite often a wonderfully carved and well-designed single color overlay will be worth far more than a multicolor but poorly finished bottle. (See the photograph by clicking on the link at the end of this article).

Much more research is needed in order to date these bottles, but it is generally now agreed that glass and metal bottles were the earliest materials to be used. This layer was a thin colorful one, sandwiched by yet a third clear layer that was also blown in.

Imperial yellow
I have already mentioned that a wide range of colors was used for glass bottles. I have only a couple of examples in the collection, as I do not generally favor them as in my view they were never made for use. The vast majority however are in specially designed glass bottles of a uniform shape.

Quality counts
To a connoisseur, the number of colors or layers is not so very important, as it was not such a difficult process and a far softer material to carve than stone.

To assess these bottles the color is a consideration but great attention is paid just as with stone cameo carving, to the quality of the carving and especially to how well the background is finished close to the edge of the overlay. (See the photograph by clicking on the link at the end of this article). I do not know if the damaged half that Reusable Plastic Tumblers has been removed was done so before it was painted, but I believe that it would have been.

It has also been suggested that apart from mixing in metals, even small particles of precious gemstones such as Sapphires, Emeralds and Rubies were added to the molten glass. (See the photograph by clicking on the link at the end of this article).

Later we acquired another rock crystal example, and these two are the only inside painted bottles that we have.

Painted on the inside
There remains one other area of glass bottles that really amazes everyone, these being the `Inside painted' bottles. On each side there is a bowl of fruit on a table and on the reverse is another scene of a drunken poet asleep in a garden. There are many bottles that look and feel just like Jade, Aquamarine, Agate and other stones.

The Chinese had little use for glass prior to the 17th century mainly because of their highly refined porcelain skills. When these were carved the bottle could have up to as many as eight different colors cameo carved without increasing the number of layers.

These bottles would then be dipped into bright colored molten glass which later would be carved away to leave a cameo style of design. I am sure that this was not the case, as it was far too easy to find them out by careful inspection. The photograph* shows a fine seal school bottle depicting a pair of cats at play with hovering insects amongst the flowers. The `Imperial Yellow' bottle pictured is well carved with an archaic design on both sides and is of the period 1736 - 1795.

Although these were made in the same way, the overlay is far more delicately carved and often even the thickness of the overlay is controlled to create shading.

I should also explain that they did not restrict inside painting to glass but have applied the same techniques to Crystal and Chalcedony. So far, I have never seen any on the clear or snowflake backgrounds.

To my mind it is the fact that it was so poorly hollowed that makes the painting even more amazing! Have a look at the photograph. There has been a view in the past that the Chinese made these as fakes with the intention to deceive. They were also able to control bubbles and by the addition of white flecks in the glass, colors such as these apt names suggest were created: - Sodden Snow, Camphor, and Snowflakes.

Layers of glass
Apart from these overlay types there are many interesting mottled, swirling and colorful designs as well as the plain color bottles, both uncarved and carved. It shows a coiled `Chih Lung' or dragon on both sides; also having mythological animal mask and mock ring handles on each shoulder 1750 - 1860.

The Chinese enjoyed making convincing imitations of highly valued minerals as a demonstration of their skill.

There is a group of rather special, very finely worked overlay bottles known as the `Seal School' because they always include a seal with the design. A true `Imperial Yellow' bottle must be one from his period and that can only be confirmed by the quality of the bottle and the carving. With transparent bottles the inside could be controlled and made to appear crazed as these names suggest - Cracked Ice, Fish Net or Sea Spray. This bottle is signed and dated 1822. (*See the photograph by clicking on the link at the end of this article).

Not all bottles of this color really are Imperial as after his death this color was available to all. Some were dipped more than once to provide more than one colored layer. (See the photograph by clicking on the link at the end of this article). I have selected a ruby red single overlay as a good example to photograph. Sometimes they treated it just like a stone and carved bottles out of a solid piece, otherwise they blew glass into moulds. There is no doubt that their advanced knowledge acquired in firing porcelain, and how metallic oxides react, was put to good use in glass.

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