7minutesonline.com by Nomad Sahara – 08.02.2017
Photo Nomad Sahara
To see the highly accomplished artist Chen Hengrong painting the inside of a glass bottle takes my breath away. In our modern world of rushing around and computing, watching Cheng paint with such calm and resolve, slows time and reality down to a millisecond. Suddenly I felt like I was being transported miles and miles away from the busy shopping mall to a secluded mountain region in China.
Video Nomad Sahara
Master Chen who is chinese was born in 1976 in Hengshui of Hebei Province. The city is renowned as the center for inner bottle painting, mainly for small colorfully decorated snuff bottles. Chen has been painting for more than 20 years and a large number of his work have been highly recognized and awarded. In the year 2000 inside painted bottles were listed as cultural heritage of the People’s Republic of China.
Snuff bottles are one of the important creations of the Qing Dynasty. Snuff is considered as a medicine and available in the form of powder. This snuff is consumed through a bottle called snuff bottle.
Photos Nomad Sahara
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/snuff_bottle
Snuff bottles were used by the Chinese and the Mongolians during the Qing Dynasty to contain powdered tobacco. Smoking tobacco was illegal during the Qing Dynasty, but the use of snuff was allowed since the Chinese considered snuff to be a remedy for common illnesses such as colds, headaches and stomach disorders. Therefore, snuff was carried in a small bottle like other medicines. The snuff bottle replaced the snuff box used by Europeans.