Browse Items (43 total)

The compass was invented more than 2000 years ago. The Ancient Chinese compass was made from iron oxide, a mineral ore. Iron oxide is also known as lodestone and magneta.

Chinese painting is done on paper or silk, using a variety of brushes, ink and dye. Subjects vary, including: portrait, landscape, flowers, birds, animals, and insects.

Standing as distinctive symbols of Chinese architectural culture, timber-framed structures are found throughout the country. The wooden components such as the columns, beams, purlins, lintel and bracket sets are connected by tenon joints in a…

The Hairy Monkey was probably invented in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty. The most common Hairy Monkey sculptures feature dancing or posturing monkeys.

Marionettes on strings or wire like the old time Pinocchio or as in the picture to the right were once popular in the China before the advent of motion pictures.

Puppet art is a medium of performance with puppets. How is the puppet produced? It is…

Enamel Painted Porcelain was pottery that featured unique techniques such as overglaze painting and cloisonné (embedding of minerals). It emerged during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912 AD) which dubbed it as Qing porcelain. The Qing imperial court would…

Black porcelain is a type of pottery with a pure black base which was achieved by using a black iron glaze. It started during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) and was for ordinary use.

Celadon was a type of pottery finished off with a pale grayish-green glaze. To give off this effect, the ceramic would be applied with liquified clay rich in iron before being heated up. The iron in the clay would oxidize to unravel its distinct…

Blue and white porcelain is pottery with a white base and treated with a vibrant blue glaze. It began in the Tang Dynasty (618AD-907 AD) when cobalt started to be imported from Persia. Blue and white porcelain was often portrayed works of the blue…

In Lin cheng, Nei qiu and Xing tai, in northern Hebei, a hard, white porcelain, called Xing porcelain, gained fame and became the standard Tang porcelain. White porcelain was pottery created with a plain white glaze. It began mature production during…