Suntory Museum of Art
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Notable Works
Purple cut-glass bowl with hexagonal motifs

Notable Works

Glass

Purple cut-glass bowl with hexagonal motifs

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Place of production or style: China
Number of components: 1
Dimensions (in cm): D. (rim) 17.2, H. 8.0
Date of production: Qing period 18th century Qianlong (1736-1795)

In China, the art of glassmaking made rapid advances during the Qing dynasty. In 1696, the Kangxi Emperor established a glass workshop within the Forbidden City to produce glass for imperial use. That effort bore magnificent fruit during the reign of his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor. This work is a cut-glass bowl with the bold inscription Da Qing Qianlong nianzhi, "made in the Qianlong period of the great Qing." Twenty-five hexagonal motifs each are precisely arranged in four levels. It is an example of the continued influence of Sassanid Persian cut glass, which reached China via the Silk Road.

Notable Works

Purple cut-glass bowl with hexagonal motifs

SUNTORY MUSEUM of ART