ALONG THE RIVER DURING CHING MING FESTIVAL Inner Painting Tea Set Featured

"Inner Painting," or painting inside glass spheres or snuff bottles, originated during the Ming Dynasty. The craft came about when the elegant art of painting and ceramics making in China had reached a peak.

In the 18th century, a young Buddhist monk found himself inspired by a carelessly discarded empty snuff bottle. The monk noticed that the bottle's previous owner had scraped the inside of the snuff bottle in a vain attempt to remove additional snuff. In the process, a curious blend of marks and scratches had inadvertently been left behind on the bottle's inner wall. Inspired by these haphazard marks, the monk invented a way to paint elegant images rivaling the best of traditional Ming painting inside the bottle through a tiny opening in the bottle's mouth.
This style, spread by word of mouth, developed in sophistication over the next several centuries. It soon became a status symbol for sophisticated and wealthy Chinese to exchange inner painting bottles as a form of gift giving. The Chinese gentry of the Ming and especially Qing dynasties focused their creative energies on causing their most.

ALONG THE RIVER DURING CHING MING FESTIVAL was the work of Song Dynasty artist, Zhang Zeduan. The painting captures the daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Pien Jing (today's Kaifeng). The theme celebrates Ching Ming Festival (Qingming Festival). The entire piece was painted in handscroll format and the content reveals the lifestyle of all stratum of the society (from rich to poor) as well as different economic activities in rural areas and the city. It offers glimpse of the custumes and architecture during the period. As an artistic creation, the piece has been well revered and over the centuries, court artists of subsequent dynasties have reproduced several versions.

Dimensions:

Tea Pot: 3"1/8Dx3"

Tea Cup: 1"1/2Dx1"H

Package: 8"Dx1"H

Preparation Time: 2-3 working days

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