In the winter months in China, handwarmers would be filled with glowing coals and carried to warm the holder’s icy fingers and toes. A New Year’s tradition had villagers taking coals from the main village fire back to their own homes in handwarmers such as this one to ensure good fortune in the coming year. The intricate and refined beauty of these utilitarian objects also made handwarmers an important accoutrement in the scholar’s study.

In the winter months, handwarmers would be filled with glowing coals and carried to warm the holder’s icy fingers and toes. A New Year’s tradition had villagers taking coals from the main village fire back to their own homes in handwarmers such as this one to ensure good fortune in the coming year. The intricate and refined beauty of these utilitarian objects also made handwarmers an important accoutrement in the scholar’s study.

The alloy paktong has a fascinating history. Centuries before nickel was isolated in the west, the Chinese had produced an alloy of zinc, copper and nickel which had the lustrous sheen and color tone of silver, was appreciably harder than silver, and did not tarnish in use. Many examples of this alloy have a particularly pleasing color which is silver-bright but possesses what has been termed a “soul of gold.” For additional information about paktong, see our article on the subject in ARTS OF ASIA, Nov/Dec. 1992.

Pewter is an alloy of tin and lead which acquires a unique soft gun-metal color after long usage. The alloy readily lends itself to surface decoration. It is soft, easily worked and readily bonded to a variety of other materials through applying moderate heat. Examples of Ch’ao-chou pewter pieces tend to be identifiable through their frequent use of punches rather than engraving tools to produce surface designs, and Ch’ao-chou pewterers often placed their studio marks on their products. A fondness for punched “pearl” grounds made with hollow punches is also characteristic of Ch’ao-chou pewter. (See “Chinese Pewter Tea Wares” by Bennet Bronson and Ho Chuimei in ARTS OF ASIA November-December 1988.)

The qin is one of the oldest Chinese musical instruments, with a history that spans nearly 3,000 years. It is a board zither with seven strings, seven tuning pegs, thirteen marks for notes and four low feet. The qin was the instrument of the Confucian superior man and most of the scholars of the day were required to study and regularly practice the instrument. Many objects for the scholar’s desk were crafted in the shape of a qin – a shape which has long associations with the pursuits of the scholar.