Qing handicrafts
During the Qing era, Imperial Workshops built in Beijing brought together artisans and raw materials that were once only obtainable in disparate regions.
With the stronger presence of Western powers in the nineteenth century, handicrafts, especially porcelain, took on different characteristics depending on whether it was for domestic consumption and international export.
These aspects not only enhanced the quality of objects produced, but added to their value as luxury products as it was easier for artisans to incorporate more complex techniques in their work.
The advancement of handicraft technology and the contact between specialized artisans at imperial workshops resulted in the possibility of combining multiple raw materials in a singular object, such as the hardwood being inlaid with enamelled porcelain.
[1] With the increase of trade networks and the tributary system, the centers of certain handicraft traditions shifted as raw materials such as hardwoods and ivory from Southeast Asia, marble from Yunnan, and jade from Burma[4] were able to be imported from different locations.
[10] Glazes, in fact, only became a major party of decorative art during the Qing dynasty after the Kangxi, Yongzhen, and Qianlong emperors came into contact with Jesuit missionary glassmakers.
[12][13] Inkstone (also called ink-slab, ink palette, or even Mr. Clay Water[14]) were essential writing instruments in early modern East Asia.
[14] During the Qing era, the Kangxi emperor insisted that inkstones were to be made out of a new material, Songhua stone, in hopes of grafting a Manchu identity on a Chinese instrument.
[15] Songhua stones, being slender, flat, and thin, often patterned with bright green or purple veins or layers, could be easily shaped and carved with innovative technology that allowed for a combination of materials and techniques.
chicken wing wood), tielimu (铁力木 ironwood), wumu (乌木 ebony), and hongmu (红木 mahogany) who all had their own distinctive color and grain.
[25] Kesi was mostly used for table and chair coverings during formal occasions but their patterning also became imbued in other forms of surfaces, such as lacquer, jade, and bamboo carving.
[26] Kesi silk tapestry were among the many art forms catalogued during the Qianlong emperor's reign (producing the Bidian Zhulin and the Shiqu Baoji, published in 1744–1745, 1793, and 1816), alongside painting and calligraphy.
[27] Handicrafts during the Qing era were more elaborate in terms of its decoration and shapes, especially prominent in crafts produced for the imperial family or ceremonial purposes.
They were established for the maintenance and creation of objects for the imperial family or ceremonial functions of the court but they also thrived as an area of artistic production as artisans and craftsmen from all over China, Asia, and even overseas (Jesuits from Europe) came into contact with each other.
[43] The first forty years of the imperial workshop system is unknown due to a lack of archives, but some aspects can be constructed from material evidence of the objects that were produced.
[44] Under the reign of the Yongzheng emperor (1723-1735), imperial workshops became better rationalized and organized as different offices were established to maximize operational capacity.
