Tiger Hunt

By the 1730s, reverse paintings on glass were being made in Guangzhou (Canton)—perhaps the earliest example of export painting. These were very difficult to make, as thin translucent paint layers were applied in reverse to the back side of a sheet of mirror glass, so that the finished details and highlights were applied first, and the background last. Here, a hunting scene is depicted with nobles in Mongol costume on horseback. The painting is in a period hongmu wood frame.