Ma Shaoxuan and Nihua Art

Author: Ma Zengshan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-09-01
Features: The art of inner painting snuff bottles originated during the Jiaqing and Daoguang years of the late Qing Dynasty. In the early days, the inner walls of the snuff bottles were not sandblasted, leaving them smooth and difficult to color, so the designs were simple. Later, craftsmen used iron sand and carborundum to shake and polish the inner walls of the snuff bottles, creating a milky, sandblasted texture that was fine and non-slippery, allowing for painting. After the Guangxu era, the art of inner painting reached its peak, with many renowned masters emerging. Ma Shaoxuan was one of the most famous "Beijing-style" inner painting masters of that time. Ma Shaoxuan excelled in the technique of "poetry on one side and painting on the other" in inner painting. The front of his snuff bottles often featured portraits, with occasional depictions of flowers, birds, and animals, all executed with exceptional craftsmanship. On the back of the snuff bottles, he successfully recreated the regular script calligraphy of the famous Tang Dynasty calligrapher Ouyang Xun, with meticulous and rigorous handwriting. Ma Shaoxuan's works primarily used ink and color, creating lifelike images that resembled photographs. In 1915, the inner painting snuff bottle he created won an honorary award at the Panama International Exposition.