Life and Leisure

Museum gives clear insight into glassmaking

By Kelly Chung Dawson (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-17 11:01

NEW YORK - An exhibition that explores the confluence between Eastern and Western glassmaking in the 18th and 19th centuries will begin at a museum in Corning, upstate New York, on Thursday.

The East Meets West exhibition, which will be on until Oct 30 next year at the Corning Museum of Glass, examines technological and artistic exchanges between China, Japan and various European countries.

It will feature objects from Asia and Europe collected over the past 16 years, including such varied glass pieces as Chinese snuff bottles and Asian-themed Bohemian beakers.

Florian Knothe, curator of the exhibition, said not many of these objects are always seen, let alone be seen together.

"The idea is to bring the European objects that imitate Chinese decoration and then Chinese and Japanese objects, and see it all together," he said.

"The galleries are generally more split up by culture, so what I'm doing is the reverse, by bringing the two together and looking at the connections and the influences between East and West."

Much has been written about the Asian aesthetic influence in Europe during this time, as the result of exposure to East and South Asian objects through imports by the English, Dutch and French East India companies.

A visit from the royal court of a Siamese king to the French palace whet cultural appetites and inspired much art devoted to what at the time was infinitely exotic and foreign.

French style makers declared "Chinoiserie" the height of fashion, finding endless inspiration in Chinese motifs, artworks, Oriental architecture and materials.

Chinoiserie was an approximation of Eastern aesthetics, and appeared in fabric patterns, wallpaper, clothing design and of course, in glassmaking.

"I really hope that Asian visitors will also see the exhibition," Knothe said. "My experience in looking at Chinoiserie, is that most Asians don't think it looks Chinese.

"But at the time, there was so little exchange that it was entirely exotic, and thereby was Chinese in a way. It wasn't like is now where Western clothing and culture for example, has been so popular in China.

"Instead, it was like that in Europe with Chinese things."

Much less has been written or explored on the Asian side of the history of glassmaking, because Western influence had less of an impact in China, where imports were scarce.

"Chinese influence in Europe has been covered in-depth," said Knothe. "I find the exchange between East and West, the two sides, and how it all happened in parallel, to be much more interesting.

"The Eastern side of this history has never been done."

European Christian missionaries did in fact bring technological expertise to China during this time, and the Western influence was less aesthetic and more scientific, the exhibition seems to argue.

Interestingly, European glassmakers had attempted to make porcelain, but lacked alchemical knowledge of the material, instead producing an imitation "milk glass" material that was ultimately brought back to China and found a market of its own there.

Chinese glass produced during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) exhibits unique characteristics reminiscent of the cultural influence of the Western Jesuits, Knothe said.

The museum has conducted scientific analysis by X-ray fluorescence on glass, revealing similar mixing techniques, he said.

Aesthetically, Chinese glassmakers chose to carry on indigenous style, Knothe said. The exhibition features several pieces that show this combination of Western scientific influence and Asian aesthetic design, including cameo glass vessels in which overlaying opaque glass is presented with local headstone carving patterns and iconography.

"Ultimately I think most of all I want people to see that the influence between East and West went both ways," Knothe said.

Visitors can also view other collections, including exhibitions in Islamic, Roman, European and American glass.

China Daily