Lot n° 135
Estimation :
500 - 600
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 15 360EUR
- Lot 135
A pair of rock crystal and brass spectacles in their original case, China, late 19th century
The bottom of the case housing the glasses bears a red seal label in the center zhēnzhèng shuǐjīng-真正水晶 meaning "genuine crystal". It is surrounded by a handwritten cut-out label in French indicating a provenance: Souvenir de Chine - Campagne de 1861 - Bernard Cav... - soldat, 3e Génie. The inside of the case lid bears three seal labels in red:
- sānshān lǎodiàn - 三山老店 - "former Chu Sanshan eyeglass store" followed by an advertising label of the house.
- chǔ yáo tiān zhi - 褚堯天製 - "made by Chu Yaotian".
- Then, a handwritten label: "To Mr. Brochart, tribute of respectful gratitude, May 12, 1902".
The outside of the case embroidered in green, ochre and blue polychrome silks is decorated with a lakeside landscape showing mountains, trees, pavilions and a character sitting in a boat.
Length : 15 cm
Small chips.
Between the Kangxi (1662-1722) and Jiaqing (1795-1820) eras, two great engineers from Suzhou, a region renowned for its stonework, developed optical lens technology in China. The first one, Sun Yunqiu (1626-1661), favored the industry and the development of lenses made of semi-precious stones generating a very prosperous production and sale in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Tianjin, Guangzhou...
In 1735, a workshop dedicated to the manufacture of these corrective lenses appeared in Suzhou. From the reign of Qianlong (1736-1795) and under Jiaqing, the engineer Chu Sanchan took over. He was responsible for the development of the technology of making spectacles, especially with temples. Originally, glasses were a symbol of high social status in China because the lenses were made of rock crystal, topaz or amethyst. These rare and expensive materials were not accessible to ordinary people who could not afford to wear glasses. However, they eventually became a common product and spread throughout China.
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