Whenever people talk of inner painting art, they will think of inner painted snuffbox first, Inner painting is originated from the snuff bottle, which is a main media to show the inner painting art. Chinese inner painting snuff bottle came forth in the Qing Dynasty and had a history of over 200 years. It became a craftwork until late 19th century. The foremost known Chinese inner painting snuffbox is made by Huanwen Gan in 1816, which is owned by a British collector now. Inner painting art is different.from painting and calligraphy in the painting media, procedure and coloring.

Now the snuff bottle have lost their original functions and mainly become a showing media of the inner painting.For years, inner painting snuff bottle are cherished by collectors for their unique painting art, special outline, small figure and unworn image. Now the inner painting art has developed its media from single snuffbox to variable craftworks including crystal ball, folding screen, brush pot, vase, ornament and etc. The products are sold to many countries such as USA, South Korea, Philippines and so on. Inner painting craftworks is very valuable to collect, Developing a school of it's own, the craftworks are called“Chinese specialty”. With the trend of inner painting collection, the value of these craftworks is also increasing fast, Painting's value and media figure's value combine to make a whole perfect craftwork, while the painting is much more valuable than the media figure. The beautiful colors and lines may bring people senses of aestheticism and sympathy.

Inner painting is a unique form of art. Inserting a specially designed slender pen with a bend at the tip through the neck, an accomplished artist working in the tight space of the bottle cavity is able to etch vivid designs and calligraphy onto the inner surface of the bottle. The result is an array of exquisite miniatures of landscapes, still life, portraits and calligraphy that delight many collectors.

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