Creative and creative ideas may start with simple things that many do not care about. The example we have in this report provides a clear picture of this matter.
The art of painting inside the glass boxes, which is considered a fine Chinese art, and distinguished in Malaysia by the population of Chinese origin, began with a simple idea of a Chinese artist who remained unknown until our day, when he wanted to rotate these boxes and turn them into works of art, which later became part of their lifestyle and their cultural and cultural heritage. Who are keen to learn and preserve it.
These magnificent bottles, depicted in an extremely delicate and elegant way, not only illustrate the technical prowess of the Chinese craftsmen, but open a window to the life and culture of the Chinese Empire and its extension in Southeast Asian countries.
The idea of rotation was the beginning
The idea of painting inside glass tobacco boxes in China began in the 18th century AD during the Qing Dynasty, by an artist who wanted to invest an enormous amount of crushed tobacco bottles to turn them into valuable art pieces.
This type of tobacco box was for the public, while the royal family and wealthy Chinese used to use those made from precious metals such as gold, silver, or ivory.
But after this artist started drawing on these glass boxes, they became works of high artistic value, and they are sold at exorbitant prices so that some of the prices offered on the dedicated websites exceed tens of thousands of dollars.
Of course, the prices depend on the extent of the artist’s reputation, the quality of the glass, and they are no longer used for smoking purposes but rather have become art pieces used in the decoration to decorate homes.
Lifestyle in art
Elena Young, who owns a shop specializing in Chinese arts and crafts, gave Al-Jazeera Net an idea of this type of art, as she says that he needs years of study and experience, and there are private schools to teach him.
She adds that Chinese families are inherited from generation to generation, as it is closely related to the way of life of the Chinese wherever they are, whether in their country or abroad.
It is an art that needs patience and time - as Elena says - and a professional artist needs more than a week to draw a simple bottle, while complex shapes need approximately a month to complete, so its total production is a few bottles each year, and this is one of the reasons for its high price.
As for the tools used in drawing, they are the swastika brush, the length of which depends on the size of the bottle, and the colors used, they started in the past with the colors of Chinese inking and watercolor predominantly black and gray, in addition to red and green.
The topics on painting on glass dealt with a description of social life styles in the Qing Dynasty, as well as drawings of nature with a spirit of Buddhist nature, expressing how closely human is linked to nature and the universe.
After that, Chinese art was influenced in general by the Western school, so they used oil colors which are more stable on the glass and they also used bright colors.
It is indicated here that the Chinese in most of their arts resort to the use of synonyms, for example, or words with one writing and the different meaning, for example, the word "fu" means the bat, and it has another meaning which is happiness, so they draw the bat as an expression of happiness.
Inverted drawing
The difficulty of this art in addition to its accuracy being that it is drawn inside small bottles is due to the method of drawing itself, which must be inverted upside down in order for the painting to appear correctly on the face of the bottle.
The color gamut is inverted as well, so it starts in darker dark colors until it comes to light and bright colors.
As part of Chinese culture, these glass artifacts were used in the philosophy and symbols of Fung Shui harmony, especially those made of crystal, which is a source of positive energy in their culture.
Some graphics are used to bring richness, such as the flower of peony, and some are placed in the bedrooms for eternal marital life, and the cranes are used for this purpose and some are for protection or health.
Today, young artists are drawing in a modern way while preserving the spirit of this art.