Perfume Holder Lid

1999.13.0006C

Thumbnail of Perfume Holder Lid (1999.13.0006C)

Detailed Images

Basic Information

Artifact Identification Perfume Holder Lid   (1999.13.0006C)
Classification/
Nomenclature
  1. Personal Artifacts
  2. :
  3. Toilet Articles
  4. :
  5. Hygiene Artifacts
Artist/Maker Unknown
Geographic Location
Period Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
Date 18th century
Culture Chinese
Location Not on Exhibit

Physical Analysis

Dimension 1 (Width) 5.2 cm
Dimension 2 (Depth) 5.1 cm
Dimension 3 (Height) 2.9 cm
Weight 29 g
Measuring Remarks N/A
Materials Plant--Wood, Pigment--Stain
Manufacturing Processes Carved, Turning, Incising

Research Remarks

Description

This is the lid of a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) carved bamboo perfume holder which has a motif of a warrior on horseback in an elaborate and naturalistic landscape. The natural world has been a consistent theme of Chinese artwork and can be seen in this artifact with the image of bamboo and pine trees coexisting with human society. Bamboo is a difficult wood to carve, yet it represents longevity given that it flourishes throughout winter. Lacquerware was typically produced in government-sponsored workshops, though this was not always the case. In times of economic prosperity, the commercial workshops of southern China, particularly the southeastern provinces of the Song and Yuan periods (13th-14th century) and the late Ming era (1368-1644), were innovative in their approaches to creating lacquer items. Lacquer items from the Qing palace workshops were, at first, carved by craftsmen capable of overcoming the difficulties of lacquer carving due to their experience carving bamboo and ivory. However, the rapid political and economic decline of the Qing Dynasty following the reign of Qianlong (1735-1796) resulted in the closing down of many palace workshops, and the lacquer items made afterwards were fewer and had diminished in quality.

Published Description N/A
Bibliography

Hutt, Julia. Understanding Far Eastern Art: A Complete Guide to the Arts of China, Japan and Korea - Ceramics, Sculpture, Painting, Prints, Lacquer, Textiles and Metalwork. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1987.

Spurlock Museum of World Cultures. Sculpted Stories: Selected Works from the Fred Freund Collection. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, n.d.

Watt, James C. Y., and Barbara Brennan Ford. East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991.

Artifact History

Credit Line/Dedication Fred A. Freund Collection
Reproduction No

Contact

All information about our collection is constantly reviewed and updated. Please contact Dery Martínez-Bonilla, Registrar, if there is any information you are looking for that isn't currently online.