CIRCA 1760

The introduction of the fashion and method of painting on glass in China owes much to the English East India Company founded in 1599 and to the Dutch V.O.C founded three years later. However it was the French, through the activities of Jesuit missionaries, who helped introduce European language into China and who formed a bond with the Emperor K'ang-Hsi (1662-1722), promoting Western Taste in court. Chinese porcelain decorated in the European style, including armorial services contributed greatly to the value of Western imports in the late 17th century despite the fragile nature of such pieces. Among the goods transported from Europe to China, many as gifts to the Emperor, were large mirrors, glass cups and lamps, which were greatly admired for their quality.
The technique for creating pictures on imported miror glass is thought to have been promoted by Father Guiseppe Castiglione (1688-1766) who reached Peking in 1715 and found favour with the Imperial rulers. The process had already been used in Europe, a process termed verre églomisé, and Chinese artists adopted the method though Alvarez Semedo, a Portuguese living in China wrote that they had no knowlege of painting in oils and have 'more curiosities than perfection'.
The finished articles however were widely admired in European markets, and when sent back to Europe, enduring another hazardous sea voyage, they were quickly adopted along with Chinese porcelain, wallpaper, silks and lacquer in the most fashionable circles desirous of the exotic.