Ancient Chinese glass

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Ancient Chinese glass means all glass made in China before the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Glass was rare and not as important as pottery, metalwork, or other crafts. The idea of glass in China appears in ancient writings around the 5th century AD, but archaeologists have found glass made as early as the Warring States period (about 475 BC to 221 BC).

China learned glass later than Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India. Imported glass objects reached China in the early part of the 5th century BC, mainly as multicolored “eye beads.” These imports helped inspire Chinese glass making, especially for beads.

In the Han dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), glass use expanded. A technique called glass casting allowed the creation of molded objects such as bi disks and other ritual items. The chemistry of early Chinese glass differs from that of the imported glasses: Chinese pieces often have high amounts of lead and barium, making lead-barium glass. After the end of the Han dynasty, lead-barium glass became less common, and glassmaking only picked up again in the 4th and 5th centuries AD.

Researchers now think early Chinese glass came in at least three main chemical families: potash-lime, lead-barium, and potash; among these, lead-barium was especially important in early China.

Glass from this period also shows Western influence. Glass and faience from outside East Asia, especially Mesopotamia, inspired Chinese glass. The best-known Western-influenced forms are eye beads. Chinese eye beads differ from Near Eastern ones in their chemical makeup, with a high lead and barium content that gave a jade-like appearance.

Many Chinese glass objects imitate jade in color and shape. Common colors were opaque greens, light greens, and milky white. Objects include bi disks, “glass garments” (parts of burial suits), sword fittings, and vessels. Bi disks were common in Chu tombs during the Warring States period and continued into the Han era. They measured roughly 8 to 9 cm in diameter and were often cheaper-looking substitutes for jade.

Glass burial plaques resemble jade burial suits, and some could be sewn into cloth to form a protective garment for the dead. The earliest glass vessels in China come from Western Han tombs. In two famous tombs, in Xuzhou and Mancheng, archaeologists found glass cups and a plate made by mold casting in lead-barium glass. After the Han dynasty, glass vessels disappear for a time and only reappear in the 4th–5th centuries AD, with no vessels from the Three Kingdoms period.