Item description / significance
This is an inner painted (inside painted, reverse painted) glass ball depicting the character of Monkey from the beloved Chinese classic Journey to the West. It is an adaptation of one of the “Havoc in Heaven” series of 8 paintings by Liu Jiyou. In this painting, Monkey has escaped from a furnace.
Bought where
in China on Xianyu, the Chinese second-hand marketplace app (from a seller in Nanjing, Jiangsu, eastern China)
Age and origin
Painted in 1996, according to the inscription, probably Hengshui, Hebei Province, in northern China
What I like about it
What attracted me is the quality of the painting (the level of detail)—and the low price, to be honest! Now that I am more familiar with the Liu Jiyou paintings, I like it more than I did originally.
Other notes
The seller also sent a tassel with an inside-painted hulu gourd on a tassel:
See below for information about the inscription and the painting this adaptation was based on, as well as photos of the sphere, including photos from the seller.
Continue reading Journey to the West Chinese inside-painted glass ball