A pair of spectacles set with crystal lensesQing dynasty, 18th / 19th century 清十八 / 十九世紀 水晶眼鏡yellow brocade case, with labels reading zhenzheng shuijing (real crystal), san shan lao dian (the old shop of san shan), Chu Yaotian zhi (Made by Chu Yaotian), ink label in French reading à M. Brochart, hommage de respectueuse gratitude 12 mai 1902 (to Monsieur Brochart, as a tribute of respectful gratitude 12th May 1902) (3)印文：真正水晶三山老店褚堯天製Width when extended 6 in., 15.2 cm 来源: Description A pair of spectacles set with crystal lensesQing dynasty, 18th / 19th century清十八 / 十九世紀 水晶眼鏡yellow brocade case, with labels reading zhenzheng shuijing (real crystal), san shan lao dian (the old shop of san shan), Chu Yaotian zhi (Made by Chu Yaotian), ink label in French reading à M. Brochart, hommage de respectueuse gratitude 12 mai 1902(to Monsieur Brochart, as a tribute of respectful gratitude 12th May 1902)(3)印文：真正水晶三山老店褚堯天製Width when extended 6 in., 15.2 cmCondition reportFor more information on and additional videos for this lot, please contactserina.wei@sothebys.com.ProvenanceGifted to Mr. Brochart, 12th May 1902.Brochart 先生獲贈於1902年5月12日Catalogue noteImported into China during the Yuan dynasty,corrective lenseswere solely reserved for the rich and powerful up until the Ming period due to the high cost and rarity of these imported goods. A burden to use,these lenseswere often singular handheld instruments, more closely resemblingmagnifiers than eyeglasses. During the later years of the Ming dynasty, the knowledge to produce such lenses wasslowly acquired by the craftsmen of Hangzhou, and the city became an emerging site for China'searliest domestic production ofcorrective lenses. Sun Yunqiu (1628-1662), a scholar and inventor from Suzhou who was well versed in geometry, physics, and especially optics, visited these shops in Hangzhou early in his career and sought to bring this knowledge back to his birthplace. Through much trial and error, Sun was able to greatly advance and expand the use ofcorrective lenses. Not only was he able to producearound24different lensestocater toa wider range of eyesight problemsby switching the use of glass lenses to crystal ones, he also invented spectacles that could be worn on the nose, greatly increasing the daily convenience of these lenses.Sun's invention was immediately met with great success and the use of eyeglasses quickly popularized and spread to the rest of the empire.Suzhou became known as the center of production for these crystal lenses.During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, the workshop of Chu Sanshan appeared and was known as the best amongst the many inthe city (seeMao Xianming, 'Gugong zhenchang de yanjing [Spectacles in the collection of the Palace Museum]',Zijincheng, 2002, pp 34-36). Believed to be a student of Sun, Chufurther advanced the technology developed by his teacher. The labels on the present lot, indicate that these came from 'the old shop of Sanshan' and were 'made by Chu Yaotian', which points to this well-known workshop, with Chu Yaotian possibly a descendant of the famous Chu Sanshan.Surveying the existing spectacles in the Palace Museum, Beijing, Mao discusses the use of these corrective spectacles by the Qing emperors, citing that the Qing Court Collection contained both spectacles gifted by Western missionaries to the emperors as well as ones made domestically, including ones from well-known commercial workshops. The Yongzheng, Qianlong and Xuantong Emperors all had a personal collection of spectacles. In particular, the Yongzheng Emperor was recorded to be especially fond of them: Qing records documented that the Emperor once had spectacles placed everywhere around him, including his bedroom and at Yuanmingyuan, so that he could use them whenever he needed to. Compare a closely related pair, with huangtong ruyi-shaped mounts, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in ibid., p. 33.Theyellow embroidered spectacle case may further indicate an imperial association. See a related embroidered eyeglass pouch, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no.贈雜000047N000000000). Compare several embroidered spectacle cases with a similar silk cord, one, attributed to the 18th to 19th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no.30.75.687), three, attributed to a later date, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis (accession nos 45.15.3, 31.50.172a and 30.23.175), and illustrated inRobert D. Jacobsen, Imperial Silks: Ch’ing Dynasty Textiles in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts,vol. II, Minneapolis, 2000, pls 356, 359 and 360.