As promised, this week we'll take a look at some magic Chinese Crystal Balls.
What makes them magic? You tell me.
The ball is formed as one piece, with a large bubble inside.
The only point of access to the bubble is a small hole at the base of the ball, approximately 2 centimeters across.
The picture is added after the ball is formed.
I was able to watch an artisan using a similar technique, painting the inside of small (2 inch tall) bottles with simple scenes. These bottles sold for 10 RMB (about $1.50 USD). The skill was amazing. The artist used the skinniest paintbrush I have ever seen. The end of the paintbrush, just below the bristles, had a bend in it so that the artist could reach the sides of the bottle.
(Originally uploaded to lanechinaadoption's photostream)
This artist is using a straight brush to paint inside a straight sided bottle. Actually, all of the photos I found were of artists using straight brushes, so the one I saw might have just been a rebel.
Lo Gung and I pretty much used all of our fun money we had saved up for our last trip to China on...art. You'll notice that our art seems to come in pairs. These globes were no exception. I had my heart set on the graceful cranes, while Lo Gung was intent on getting a pair of ferocious tigers. In the end, we haggled...and got both. (You can actually get a better price this way - the artisan wants to move as much of their product as possible and if you buy more than one at a time, you can often get a great deal!)
Next week, I think we'll talk about jade talisman. I've got a ferocious pair that would love to make your acquaintance!
In our hotel in Yunnan there was an artist doing this, and it is my everlasting REGRET that we did not purchase one! It wasn't expensive, but I was just too emotional and stressed to even consider shopping at that point...and in the hotel? Yeah. I totally wasn't thinking there.
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful!
During one of the tours of China that I took when I was (much) younger, they took us to a place where we saw how the artists do these paintings. Of course, at the time, I was bored to tears and just wanted to get out of the place and spend time with my friends. Now, I wish I could have appreciated that more and maybe asked questions AND take some pictures!! :)
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