As Taoyun County's economy experienced a boom period at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), local residents benefited from an improvement in their living standards, and had more ability to pursue art in their daily lives.

At that time, it was a custom for people to send wine as a gift to others on festivals, birthday celebrations, wedding ceremonies, funerals and so on. Put on top of  wine jars, the lids could make a favorable first impression about the gift, by showing off the wealth of the giver and the value of the wine. Made of wood, painted with colorful lacquer and decorated with artistic engravings, Taoyuan wine-jar lids of this period turned into embodiments of culture, art and wealth. Some wealthy people spent huge sums of money on exquisite wine-jar lids, while some carved their names or the name of their shops on the wine-jar lids to show their social status.

Page:

1

2

3

4

5

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.