Specialized workshops produced these colorful depictions as commissioned works or based on standardized designs. European models were transferred to glass in minute detail, with Chinese landscapes, birds and flowers, mythological figures, and everyday scenes captured behind glass just as skillfully as the “pictures of beautiful women” (meiren hua), which are the focus of the exhibition.

So-called “meiren hua” are part of the visual repertoire of Chinese painting and are often associated with seduction and the world of courtesans. The question “What makes a beautiful woman?” arises immediately when encountering them.