Liuli Gongfang
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| Liuli Gongfang Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | Tamsui, Taiwan (1987) |
| Headquarters | Taiwan |
| Industry | Luxury Glass |
| Products | Lead Crystal |
| Employees | 900 |
| Website | www.liuli.com |
Liuli Gongfang or Liuligongfang (琉璃工房) was the first glass art workshop in greater China. It was founded in 1987 by actress Loretta Yang and director Chang Yi.[1] Their name refers to liuli, a form of archaic Chinese glasswork; the founders chose to use the word liuli, rather than the common name for glass, boli (玻璃), as it sounded more exotic. The founders aimed to revive the art of antique Chinese art glass, whose production had dwindled following the Opium Wars.[2] Yang mortgaged her house and those of all her family members in order to gain start-up capital.[1] After much trial and error, costing $1 million and taking more than three years, she and Chang were able to master the French pate-de-verre or lost-wax casting method. At the time of their founding, they operated a two-person workshop in Tamsui, Taipei County. Yang and Chang originally had a fairly strict division of labour, with Yang handling the artistic aspects of their work, while Chang managed finances and other business responsibilities; with Chang's 1997 heart attack, Yang has taken over more of Chang's responsibilities as well, including contact with the media.[2]
As of 2005, Liuli Gongfang employed 900 employees in 56 locations around the world. Their successes have earned them the moniker of "founders of contemporary Chinese glass art" and "the Georg Jensen of the glassware world".[2] Works created by Liuli Gongfang have become part of the permanent collection of London's Victoria and Albert Museum as well as the Palace Museum in Beijing's Forbidden City.[3] People First Party chairman James Soong, during his visit to mainland China (the second of a major Republic of China politician figure, after that of Lien Chan), presented People's Republic of China President Hu Jintao with a Liuli Gongfang sculpture ; Hu gave him Jingde porcelain in return.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Loretta Yang: The woman behind the Liuli phenomenon", Culture Express, China Central Television, 2007-04-17. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ a b c Freundl, Diana. "The way of liuli", Taipei Times, 2005-06-02. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Xu, Wei. "Transparently animated", East Day, 2006-01-21. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ "胡錦濤贈宋景德鎮瓷器 宋回贈琉璃工坊創作 (Hu Jintao gives Soong Jingde porcelain; Soong gives Liuli Gongfang creation in return)", Eastern Television News, 2005-05-12. Retrieved on 2008-01-11. (Chinese)
