Colored Glaze Handicrafts

Colored Glaze Handicrafts

　　Colored Glaze Handicrafts

　　When it comes to colored glaze, people from Tongzhou often refer to it as "glass playthings." Small items like colored buttons and beads, or larger ones such as animal, bird, fish, and insect figures—even the twelve zodiac animals like rabbits, dogs, sheep, monkeys, and pigs—are so common and familiar that they seem like mere child’s play. Even with hundreds or even thousands of varieties, they rarely make it to refined settings. In fact, that’s not entirely the case. For example, in recent years, the Tongzhou Xingrong Arts and Crafts Factory has successfully developed crystal glass iridescent colored glaze, which is novel, unique, and distinctive in style. This type of crafted colored glaze offers a pure, flawless whiteness reminiscent of crystal during the day, while at night, it emits a dazzling, radiant glow. It is regarded as an exotic treasure of folk craftsmanship by Americans, Russians, Spaniards, and Australians, who display it prominently in their living rooms or important rooms and frequently show it off to relatives and friends. They say that this crystal-clear colored glaze embodies the “essence of the East.” Furthermore, in 1994, in the lobbies of the Xinhua News Agency’s Hong Kong and Macau branches, there was placed a pot of “Prosperous Peonies,” symbolizing the thriving vitality of the great motherland. The sight was delightful and breathtaking. These “Prosperous Peonies” were not grown in Luoyang but were produced in Liyuan, Tongzhou District. This pot of colored glaze flower arrangement stands 2.7 meters tall, with a pot that is 0.5 meters high and 0.8 meters in diameter. Its lush leaves and richly blooming flowers form a vibrant cluster of crimson, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, white, and black hues. The brilliant and colorful blossoms compete for attention, giving the impression of fluttering bees and butterflies, vividly fresh as if exuding a faint, intoxicating fragrance. The colored glaze crafts of Tongzhou shine brilliantly—just like these “Prosperous Peonies”—causing viewers to reflect on their “roots” while admiring the flowers and leaves.