Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts in this series on Chinese textiles:
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague's Brocade Collection (Part I)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague's Tapestry Collection (Part I)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Tapestry Collection (Part II)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Embroidery Collection (Part I)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Brocade Collection (Part II)
Chinese Clothing Historical Overview - Part 1
Chinese Clothing: Shenyi and Broad Sleeves - Part I
Chinese Clothing: Shenyi and Broad Sleeves - Part II
Chinese Clothing: Shenyi and Broad Sleeves - Part I [1]
The ancient Chinese attached great importance to two-piece clothing on important ceremonial occasions, believing it to be symbolic of the greater order of heaven and earth. The one-piece style developed from the shenyi of the Warring States period, subsequently evolving into the Han Dynasty robe, the large sleeved chang shan of the Wei and Jin period and the qipao of modern times, all in the form of a long robe.
Shenyi or "deep garment", literally means wrapping the body deep within cloth. This style is deeply rooted in traditional mainstream Chinese ethics which forbid close contact between men and women. At that time, even husband and wife were not allowed to share the same bedroom, the same suitcase, or even the same clothes line. A married woman returning to her mother's home was not permitted to eat at the same table with her brothers. When in public a woman had to keep herself fully covered. These rules and rituals were recorded in great detail in the Confucian "Book of Rites".
Shenyi is made up of an upper and lower piece of clothing, tailored and sewn together in a unique way. There is a chapter in the "Book of Rites" devoted to the making of shenyi. It states that in the Warring States period (476-221 BC) the style of the shenyi had to conform to certain rules and regulations. It had to be long enough not to expose the skin, but short enough not to drag on the floor. The material was elongated into a large triangle; the part above the waist was straight cut and below the waist was bias cut, for ease of movement of the elbow. Moderately formal, the shenyi was designed both for men of letters and warriors, being both functional and simple in style. Shenyi of this period can be seen in silk paintings unearthed from ancient tombs, as well as on clay and wooden figurines found in the same period, which give clear indications of the style.
A woman's dress from the Han Dynasty with overlapping pieces and triple collars. The dress is embroidered with a cloud pattern, and the sleeves and collar are decorated with brocade edgings that make the wearer look very tall and upright.
The materials used for making shenyi tended to be linen, except when black silk was used to make garments for sacrificial ceremonies. Sometimes a colorful decorative band was added to the edges, and embellished with embroidered or painted patterns. When the shenyi is put on, the elongated triangular hem is rolled to the right and then tied right below the waist with a silk ribbon, called dadai or shendai, on which a decorative piece is attached.
A painted wood tomb figure excavated in Xinyang in Henan Province, wearing a long curved dress with decorative plates and angel sleeves. This type of sleeve was often used for flexible movement of the elbow and wrist. Jackets and skirts were everyday clothes, with the skirt pieces overlapping at the back and decorative jade plates in the front of the waist.
Later, leather belts appeared in central Chinese regions as a result of the influence of nomadic tribes. The belt buckles were often intricately made, becoming an important craft during the Warring States period. Large belt buckles could be as long as thirty centimeters, whereas short ones were three centimeters in length. They were made of stone, bone, wood, gold, jade, copper or iron, with the most extravagant ones decorated with gold and silver, carved with intricate patterns or embellished with jade or glass beads.
This buckle is decorated with a repoussé winged dragon, a motif that had matured during Han, and was already emblematic of the court. It is set with cabochons of turquoise and agate. Turquoise had been used throughout the Bronze Age for decorative inlay in metal, and it combines here with the agate and gold with great decorative effect. While perhaps not in classic Han court taste, this luxurious buckle is exactly the type of object that would have impressed rulers of remote provinces.
By the time of the Han Dynasty, shenyi evolved into what is called qujupao, or curved gown, a long robe with a triangular front piece and a rounded hem. The straight gown or zhujupao was popular at this time as well, also called the chan or yu. When the straight gown first appeared, it was not considered appropriate as ceremonial wear, for wearing out of the house or even for receiving guests at home. In Shiji, records of the grand historian, comments are recorded on the disrespectful nature of wearing chan and yu to court. The taboo may have originated from the fact that, before the Han Dynasty, people in the central plains wore trouser legs joined just at the waist, similar to pants worn by Chinese infants. Therefore, it may have been the case that the outer garment did not sufficiently cover the body, resulting in disgrace for the wearer.
A drawing of a colored embroidery pattern of dragon, phoenix and tiger.
When dressing etiquette is discussed in Confucian classics, it states that the outer garment must not be lifted, even in hot weather. The only occasion when lifting the outer garment was acceptable was when crossing a river. People of the central plains had to kneel before they sat. There were written rules on not being allowed to sit with both legs forward, as sitting in this forbidden posture may result in disgrace. Later on, as a result of the influence of the nomadic tribes, trousers with crotchesa became acceptable to the people of the central plains.
A printed Han Dynasty brocade robe.
Note: The Chinese word, bian, means plaited hair or a cord. Bian, used to describe the braid in the Manchu queue hairstyle, was originally applied by the Han dynasty to the Xiongnu. Bian is where one separates hair into several strands and interwines them into braids. This hairdo originates from the late society of the primitive age. The hairstyle of the Han women changed dramatically around the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). Later, a new hairdo,the bun, came into fashion, and braids became less popular. Braids returned to fashion for Han women in the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China period. Women at that time liked to braid their hair into one single long plait which normally hung over the knee, sometimes reaching the ground. Women who wore braids were usually single and those who were married wore buns instead. This hairstyle was popular again in the 1980s. At the beginning of the 1980s it was replaced by all types of curly and straight hairstyles.
Manchu married women must arrange their hair into a bun, with a silver Bian fang (an ornamental stick) thrust in it, called Gaoliangtou (sorghum-shaped hairstyle). The most typical one is the Liangbatou: tying the hair on the top of the head, plaiting it into a shape of swallow tail, letting the long hair hang on the back of the neck, and putting a fan-shaped hair coronet on it. This hairstyle is called Qitou (hair of the Manchu nobility) or Jingtou (hair of the capital).
Reference:
[1] Chinese Clothing, H. Mei, Cambridge University Press (2011).
Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts on Australian aboriginal textiles and artwork.
Untitled Artworks
(Exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions) Tjariya (Nungalka) Stanley and Tjunkaya Tapaya, Ernabella Arts (Australia)
ArtCloth from the Tiwi Islands
Aboriginal Batik From Central Australia
ArtCloth from Utopia
Aboriginal Art Appropriated by Non-Aboriginal Artists
ArtCloth from the Women of Ernabella
ArtCloth From Kaltjiti (Fregon)
Australian Aboriginal Silk Paintings
Contemporary Aboriginal Prints
Batiks from Kintore
Batiks From Warlpiri (Yuendumu)
Aboriginal Batiks From Northern Queensland
Artworks From Remote Aboriginal Communities
Urban Aboriginal ArtCloths
Western Australian Aboriginal Fabric Lengths
Northern Editions - Aboriginal Prints
Aboriginal Bark Paintings
Contemporary Aboriginal Posters (1984) - (1993)
The Art of Arthur Pambegan Jr
Aboriginal Art - Colour Power
Aboriginal Art - Part I
Aboriginal Art - Part II
The Art of Ngarra
The Paintings of Patrick Tjungurrayi
Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri
Australian Aboriginal Rock Art - Part I
Australian Aboriginal Rock Art - Part II
The Paintings of Patrick Tjungurrayi [1-5]
Warning to the Indigeneous population of Australia: This post contains an image of a deceased aboriginal elder.
The Tingari (Tingarri) cycle in Australian Aboriginal mythology embodies a vast network of Aboriginal Dreaming (tjukurpa) songlines that traverse the Western Desert region of Australia. Locations and events associated with the Tingari cycle are frequently the subject of Aboriginal Art from the region.
Patrick Tjungurrayi was born in Yalangerri near Jupiter Well in Western Australia around 1935. He is a Pintupi and Kukatja speaker, the brother of the late Brandy Tjungurrayi and Elizabeth Nyumi, both major artists from the Balgo community.
As a young man, he walked with his family following the Canning Stock Route north into old Balgo Mission which had been established in 1943. The family would collect rations such as wheat, which they would grind up themselves, and rice, sugar and tea, and then return to the bush. Patrick Tjungurrayi spent his early years travelling between Balgo and Kiwirrkura, moving with his family across their traditional lands.
Patrick Tjungurrayi eventually moved to the Old Balgo Mission, where he worked building stone houses and later the church at the new Balgo site. He met and married Mirriam Oloodoodi, Lucy Yukenbari’s sister, but returned to Kintore shortly after while she remained behind. Through the early 1980s Patrick travelled to Christmas Creek, Docker River and other desert communities. Patrick Tjungurrayi is a senior law man for his country. He began painting in Balgo in 1986, and more recently exhibited with Papunya Tula (gallery).
My favorite gallery in Alice Springs. Papunya Tula Artist Pty Ltd exhibiting artists of the Western Desert.
In 2008 Patrick Tjungurrayi won the Western Australian Indigenous Art Award sponsored by the Art Gallery of Western Australia. His work is described as having a powerful presence – masterful and monumental. Aboriginal art status – Highly collectable artist.
Although committed to his role as an artist, Patrick was primarily a traditional keeper of Law where finding the balance between his many responsibilities would only allow for the production of a small number of considered paintings each year. In 2008, with the submission of a select body of work in the inaugural Western Australian Art Awards, his unparalleled mastery and contribution to contemporary Western Desert painting was revealed, unanimously winning him the major prize.
Patrick’s work sits within major collections both within Australia and internationally such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria and the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA. Drawn from the roots of his solitary journeys, Patrick’s desire to express and share his country is nothing less than a gift with a global reach.
Patrick passed away on Christmas Eve in 2017 after an 8-year battle with kidney failure. Towards the end of his life, Patrick’s paintings also became a gift of advocacy for his people and for wider desert communities. From being the lead artist in the Kiwirrkurra Men’s painting in the 2000 auction for the development of the first dialysis unit in Kintore, to his painting Rockhole Site of Nyirrimarlu, 2005 which graces the side of the mobile Purple Truck, Patrick’s painting career wraps around the history of dialysis on Country and weaves Pintupi past, present and future connection to the land into consciousness.
The gift of Patrick Tjungurrayi resounds with the truth of what he valued in his life, his family and culture and deep love of the country that made him. His paintings, a record of knowledge, landscape and ideas, far from periphery to his life were at the heart of it, a prism of multiple narratives inspiring those around him as it will continue to do so long after his death.
Tingari April (2008).
Material: Acrylic on linen.
Size: 153 cm (high) x 183 cm (wide).
Tingari April (2009).
Material: Acrylic on linen.
Size: 61 cm (high) x 91 cm (wide).
Tingari April (2010).
Material: Acrylic on linen.
Size: 178 cm (high) x 200 cm (wide).
Tingari May (2010).
Material: Acrylic on linen.
Size: 178 cm (high) x 200 cm (wide).
Tingari May (2010) - Detail.
Material: Acrylic on linen.
Size: 60 cm (high) x 150 cm (wide).
Tingari May (2010) - Detail.
Material: Acrylic on linen.
Size: 90 cm (high) x 120 cm (wide).
Tingari May (2012).
Material: Acrylic on linen.
Size: 96 cm (high) x 180 cm (wide).
Tingari April (2014).
Material: Acrylic on linen.
Size: 90 cm (high) x 120 cm (wide).
References:
[1] Vanessa Merlino. Vanessa Merlino worked as a field officer for Papunya Tula Artists and as studio manager at Ninuku Arts in the APY Lands, working closely with a number of Australia’s most significant Indigenous artists. Vanessa holds degrees in Visual Arts, Community Cultural Development and most recently a Master of Art Curatorship at The University of Melbourne where she was the recipient of the Dean’s Award for outstanding academic achievement.
[2] Clothilde Bullen, ‘Ethics and Provenance in Indigenous Art’, in Reverence exhibition catalogue, D’Lan Davidson (2019).
[3] John Carty ed. Patrick Tjungurrayi: Beyond Borders, UWA Publishing, The University of Western Australia (2015).
[4] Luke Scholes, in Patrick Tjungurrayi and Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri exhibition catalogue, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne (2009).
[5] Ashley Crawford, ‘Patrick Tjungurrayi’ in Australian Art Collector, 50 of the Most Collectable Artists, Issue 31, Jan – March (2005) page 104.
Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts featuring my prints on paper that has featured on this blogspot:
Made to Order
Unique State (Partners in Print)
Veiled Curtains
A Letter to a Friend
Beyond the Fear of Freedom
Travelling Solander Project
Star Series
Imprint
Cry for the Wilderness
Federation on Hold – Call Waiting
Wish You Were Where?
The Four Seasons
The Creation of Hurricane Katrina – The Disruptor
The Creation of ‘Whose Place? My Place, Your Space’
The ‘Vine Glow’ Series
Vine Glow - Series 2
Vine Glow - Series 3
‘Whose Church?’
‘A Journey Ends . . . Another Nightmare Begins’
'Vine Glow - Series 3’
Introduction
The interaction between man and the environment is of growing concern as the human population is accelerating towards 9 billion people.
Our existential need for food, clothing, shelter, minerals, energy and transport has placed enormous pressure on the biosphere vwith respect to de-forestation and de-habitation on a grand scale, thereby destroying the natural carbon sinks (such as flora) and at the same time, creating greenhouse gas sources (e.g. carbon dioxide), causing an unprecedented anthropogenic change of the Earth’s atmosphere. The philosophy underlying my ‘Environmental Art’ strives to enlist the viewer’s support for sustainability.
The works on paper in this blog post, ‘Vine Glow - Series 3’, rest on the premise that native plant species are fragile in our modern world and are a threatened biological resource.
Background Notes
I have been designing and creating imagery for my hand printed works on paper using a range of traditional, improvisational and signature printing techniques for over three decades. Examples of these techniques include collographs, etchings, stamping, stencilling, mono printing, traditional screen printing, improvisational screen printing and my own signature screen printing techniques, which I termed, matrix formatting, multiplexing and low relief screen printing. In addition to these techniques, I have been experimenting with hand printing techniques using disperse dyes on synthetic/polyester fabrics for over two decades. These experiments have led to one of my signature techniques that I have developed and termed - MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS). The MSDS technique employs disperse dyes and involves hand printing multiple resists and multiple overprinted layers employing numerous color plates and low relief plant materials. The completed works are rich in color, light, shade, contrast, movement and depth. The multiple layers also imbue a painterly aesthetic and textural, three-dimensional quality to the finished ArtCloth works. Each print is unique and cannot be replicated.
As a professional senior graphic designer/illustrator in my previous career, I have always had an interest in creating imagery, prints, illustrations, posters and publications using digital processes. This interest has led me to some fascinating explorations in the field of digitally created works on paper and textiles. This post focuses on my new digitally designed prints on paper series, namely my, ‘Vine Glow - Series 3.’
‘Vine Glow - Series 3’
The ‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ digitally designed prints on paper have been based on one of my personal and unique prints on cloth which employs my signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique. The imagery was scanned, and digitally reworked in Photoshop to create a superb complimentary colorways suite by manipulating the matrix of pixels, which define the bit depth of the image, adding and subtracting colors, layers and marks with the intention of imposing my vision to create this third unique digital print series.
‘Vine Glow - Series 3' employs additional dimension and considerable textural qualities. By manipulating the pixels and creating bold individual color palettes, each print yields a three-dimensional quality. Unlike the first two series (see - ‘The ‘Vine Glow’ Series’ and, ‘Vine Glow - Series 2’), with this body of works, I aimed to create prints with a strong, extraordinarily ‘etched’ luminous aesthetic to the foreground imagery with the background imagery creating an ethereal, almost mystical memory of another time and place.
As with the first two series, ‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ contains depth and a luminous quality to the printed works encompassing the deeply rich, abstract vine shapes with vivid, saturated foreground hues.
These deconstructed, contemporary, botanically influenced images have been intentionally designed to give the illusion of an aesthetic ‘glow’ and portray another world view of our beautiful fragile flora.
There are four sets of prints in ‘Vine Glow - Series 3’, namely:
‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ I
‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ II
‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ III
‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ IV.
Each set consists of a limited edition of three signed prints throughout the series (e.g., 1/3, 2/3, 3/3).
Each printed image is 15.7 cm wide x 15.7 cm high and is printed on archival white inkjet paper stock measuring 21 cm wide x 30 cm high (i.e., A4 size).
Please email me at - Marie-Therese - for more information and/or if you are interested in purchasing any of the prints for yourself or for a friend!
I hope you enjoy my prints!
Marie-Therese.
'Vine Glow - Series 3’
Title: ‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ I.
Technique: Digitally designed print.
Print size: 15.7 cm (wide) x 15.7 cm (high).
Paper Stock and Size: Archival white inkjet paper stock measuring 21 cm (wide) x 30 cm (high)- that is, A4 size.
Edition Numbers: 1/3, 2/3, 3/3.
Title: ‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ II.
Technique: Digitally designed print.
Print size: 15.7 cm (wide) x 15.7 cm (high).
Paper Stock and Size: Archival white inkjet paper stock measuring 21 cm (wide) x 30 cm (high) - that is, A4 size.
Edition Numbers: 1/3, 2/3, 3/3.
Title: ‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ III.
Technique: Digitally designed print.
Print size: 15.7 cm (wide) x 15.7 cm (high).
Paper Stock and Size: Archival white inkjet paper stock measuring 21 cm (wide) x 30 cm (high) - that is, A4 size.
Edition Numbers: 1/3, 2/3, 3/3.
Title: ‘Vine Glow - Series 3’ IV.
Technique: Digitally designed print.
Print size: 15.7 cm (wide) x 15.7 cm (high).
Paper Stock and Size: Archival white inkjet paper stock measuring 21 cm (wide) x 30 cm (high) - that is, A4 size.
Edition Numbers: 1/3, 2/3, 3/3.
Preamble
This is the fourteenth post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part II
Selected Fresco Palette for Permanent Frescoes
Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Blue Pigments - Part I
Blue Pigments - Part II
Blue Pigments - Part III
There have been another one hundred and thirteen posts in a previous Art Resource series that have focused on the following topics:
(i) Units used in dyeing and printing of fabrics;
(ii) Occupational, health & safety issues in an art studio;
(iii) Color theories and color schemes;
(iv) Optical properties of fiber materials;
(v) General properties of fiber polymers and fibers - Part I to Part V;
(vi) Protein fibers;
(vii) Natural and man-made cellulosic fibers;
(viii) Fiber blends and melt spun fibers;
(ix) Fabric construction;
(x) Techniques and woven fibers;
(xi) Basic and figured weaves;
(xii) Pile, woven and knot pile fabrics;
(xiii) Nainkage, durable press and wash-wear finishes;
(xvi) Classification of dyes and dye blends;
(xv) The general theory of printing.
To access any of the above resources, please click on the following link - Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics. This link will highlight all of the one hundred and thirteen posts in the previous a are eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms. All data bases in the future will be updated from time-to-time.
If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.
The new Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will be hopefully useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Historical Notes on Art - Part III [1]
Greece
The Monoan and other pre-Hellenic Greek civilizations developed a fresco process virtually identical with the buon fresco of Renaissance Italy. The two principal Greek methods of painting easel pictures - according to Pliny, Vitruvius and other writers - were encaustic and a mysteriously vague second process variously supposed by modern writers to have been oil, egg tempera, or dissolved emulsified wax.
Encaustic painting (from the Greek: "burnt in") was an ancient method of fixing pigments with heated wax. It was probably first practiced in Egypt about 3000 BC. Yet, perhaps the best known of all ancient encaustic works are the Fayum funeral portraits painted in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD by Greek painters living in Egypt after Alexander the Great's conquest of that region. These Greek artisans adopted many of the Egyptian customs, including mummifying their dead, and the painting of a portrait of the deceased which was placed over the person's mummy as a memorial.
A 6th-Century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Egypt.
Most of our knowledge of the early encaustic paintings comes from the Roman historian, Pliny. Writing in the 1st Century, Pliny described how encaustic was used for the painting of portraits, mythological scenes on panels, for coloring marble and terra cotta, and for work on ivory (probably the tinting of incised lines). Many of the pieces from this time survive today,and their color has remained as fresh as any recently completed work.
Pliny the Elder | Lapham's Quarterly.
The excellent condition of these ancient works is most likely due to the fact that wax is an excellent preservative of materials. The Greeks applied coatings of wax and resin to waterproof their ships. Pigmenting the wax gave rise to the decorating of warships. In the Iliad, Homer refers to the painted ships of the Greek warriors who fought at Troy.
Homer's painted ships in the Iliad.
Unfortunately, the process of producing encaustic art was costly and the medium fell into disuse after the decline of the Roman Empire. During the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci and others attempted unsuccessfully to revive the technique. However, it was not until the 20th century that encaustic art experienced a true resurgence. Through the availability of portable electric heating implements and other tools, encaustic painting has once again taken its place as a major artist's medium.
A large amount of tradition and legend concerning the highly praised early greek painters is probably apocryphal and of small value in the study of their technqiues. No authentic Greek paintings of the classical period are known to exist; the Pompeian relics have in the past been considered typical of them, but more modern students find that they throw little light on the subject.
Columns from Pompeii.The Glass Mosaics (79 AD).
The Greeks seem to have had a complete disregard for any sort of recorded data and unlike the Egyptians, no regard for the preservation of works of art beyond their immediate functions; few statements about their mural or easel painting methods or materials are entirely free from conjecture. The principal source of our knowledge of the artistic as distinguished from the technical nature of Greek pictorial art is the study of the decorated pottery and a few other relics which happened to have survived because of their durability.
This fragment shows a black fingerprint on the bottom rim. Fragmentary skyphos, about 500 BC, attributed to the Theseus Painter (vase-painter) and the Heron Class (potter).
Terracotta, 6 1/4 × 4 3/4 × 5 1/2 in.
Courtesy: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 76.AE.127.a.
The Roman materials are somewhat better known to us through contemporary records.
Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer, (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).
A woman's dress from the Han Dynasty with overlapping pieces and triple collars. The dress is embroidered with a cloud pattern, and the sleeves and collar are decorated with brocade edgings that make the wearer look very tall and upright.
A painted wood tomb figure excavated in Xinyang in Henan Province, wearing a long curved dress with decorative plates and angel sleeves. This type of sleeve was often used for flexible movement of the elbow and wrist. Jackets and skirts were everyday clothes, with the skirt pieces overlapping at the back and decorative jade plates in the front of the waist.
This buckle is decorated with a repoussé winged dragon, a motif that had matured during Han, and was already emblematic of the court. It is set with cabochons of turquoise and agate. Turquoise had been used throughout the Bronze Age for decorative inlay in metal, and it combines here with the agate and gold with great decorative effect. While perhaps not in classic Han court taste, this luxurious buckle is exactly the type of object that would have impressed rulers of remote provinces.
A drawing of a colored embroidery pattern of dragon, phoenix and tiger.
A printed Han Dynasty brocade robe.
Manchu married women must arrange their hair into a bun, with a silver Bian fang (an ornamental stick) thrust in it, called Gaoliangtou (sorghum-shaped hairstyle). The most typical one is the Liangbatou: tying the hair on the top of the head, plaiting it into a shape of swallow tail, letting the long hair hang on the back of the neck, and putting a fan-shaped hair coronet on it. This hairstyle is called Qitou (hair of the Manchu nobility) or Jingtou (hair of the capital).
