CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, XVIIIÈME SIÈCLE

At the end of the Ming dynasty, merchant ships from Western European countries, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain, and France, navigated around the Cape of Good Hope, sailed across the Indian Ocean, and traveled thousands of miles to the South China Sea and East China Sea, bringing glass products to China. It was not until the Qianlong period, however, that reverse glass painting, a medium influenced by Western religious art, began to appear at the Qing court. As implied by the name, reverse glass painting uses glass as a medium, where oil paint or watercolor is applied to the back of the glass so that the artwork is visible from the front, a technique that adds significant complexity to the craft. Unlike export-style reverse glass paintings featuring European figures, our present painting closely aligns with examples created for the Qing imperial court. During the Qianlong period, glass paintings gained popularity within the palace and continued to be in vogue into the 19th century. These paintings served as architectural adornments, often in palace doors, windows or screens, and depicted scenes of landscapes, figures, flowers and birds. Some pieces were personally commissioned by Emperor Qianlong and rendered by court painters, including the celebrated Giuseppe Castiglione.