Message #32481

[wgeoff]

Thanks Joey, George and others

I have to admit, the Ye Zhongsan has a quality I had not previously recognised. The fish skin has a silvery sheen which is only visible in detail under a powerful lens (the camera cannot pick it up) but which, when seen from a distance, mirrors the sheen on a real fish. It is obviously intentionally painted, possibly by just drifting a white-coloured brush (or bamboo stick) above the inner surface of the bottle and allowing the roughened surface to pick up tiny spots of white. This is so life-like it's unreal - amazing for a bottle painted over 100 years ago.

Best wishes and good hunting in 2015 to all

Geoff