The Origin of Silk Flower and Artificial Plant
September 06 2019 – Rustic Reach
Nowadays, silk flower and artificial plant are more and more widely used in daily life. They enjoy a high popularity in society and more and more people are attracted by the diversity, beauty and convenience of them. However, do you know the origin of artificial flower and plant? Perhaps, a lot of people do not know the origin of them. Now, let me introduce the origin of them.
It can be said that the silk flower originated in China at the earliest time. Tracing back to history, the artificial flower has a history of at least 1,300 years in China. According to legend, there is a scar on the left sideburns of Yang, the favorite concubine of Tang Xuanzong, the Chinese emperor. Every day, the palace girls have to pick the flowers so that Yang can wear flowers on their sideburns to cover her scar. But in winter, the flowers withered. A clever palace girl made artificial flowers by ribs and silk for concubine Yang. Later, this “headdress flower” spread to the folk, and gradually it developed into a unique style of handicraft “imitation flower”.
In the Qing dynasty, silk flowers made by famous artists in Beijing won prizes at Panama World Expo. Nowadays, the variety of silk flower has developed from dozens to more than 2000, including drama flowers, baskets, bonsai and so on. Since the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, Beijing has developed into a silk flower production center, so silk flower is also known as “Jinghua Er”.
In different periods, different countries used various materials in artificial flower productions, such as Egyptian painted linen and colored horn shavings, Roman gold and silver, Chinese rice paper, Italian silkworm cocoons, and southern colorful bird feathers. At the beginning of the 18th century, the French who first learned the art of artificial flower from the Italians, made great progress in the accuracy of reproductions. By the end of the century, the manufacturers of Paris enjoyed a worldwide reputation. Around the same time, the art was introduced to Britain by French refugees and soon to the United States. The industry is now a highly specialized industry, consisting of a large number of independent operations.
Then, in the 20th century, Colfax and Fowler invented and popularized an exquisite but expensive method of making artificial wax flowers through Constance Spry, which was based on Victorian wax flowers. As time goes by, the feather, ingredients of artificial flowers, is replaced by ribbon which is a more sophisticated material. However, it is not colorful enough to make beautiful and vivid artificial flowers. Later, people found that the feathers of south American birds were suitable for artificial flowers because of their brilliant color and persistence. In addition, the indigenous people of south American have been successful in making feather flowers for a long time. In modern society, the London Zoo has a collection of artificial flowers made from hummingbird feathers.
Artificial flower and plant, as their names imply, are based on fresh and real flowers and plant. They are imitated with cloth, yarn, silk, plastic and other raw materials, which are as vivid and beautiful as the real ones. With the progress of science and technology, the process of artificial flower and plant is becoming more and more refined. Artificial flower and plant can not only be maintained for a long time, but also have the characteristics of strong plasticity, which gives flower designers greater freedom of creation. In addition, they have soft color, soft texture, delicate feeling and incomparable pattern. Moreover, they are durable, waterproof and moisture-proof, which are very easy for people to take care of. Most importantly, the combination of bending, folding, string, cutting and other flower production provides a broad stage for the emergence of lifelike flower art works. With vivid images, artificial flower and plant can be matched with different kinds of material, which brings people a warm, surprising, shocking feeling and eternal beauty.
In the Qing dynasty, silk flowers made by famous artists in Beijing won prizes at Panama World Expo. Nowadays, the variety of silk flower has developed from dozens to more than 2000, including drama flowers, baskets, bonsai and so on. Since the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, Beijing has developed into a silk flower production center, so silk flower is also known as “Jinghua Er”.
In different periods, different countries used various materials in artificial flower productions, such as Egyptian painted linen and colored horn shavings, Roman gold and silver, Chinese rice paper, Italian silkworm cocoons, and southern colorful bird feathers. At the beginning of the 18th century, the French who first learned the art of artificial flower from the Italians, made great progress in the accuracy of reproductions. By the end of the century, the manufacturers of Paris enjoyed a worldwide reputation. Around the same time, the art was introduced to Britain by French refugees and soon to the United States. The industry is now a highly specialized industry, consisting of a large number of independent operations.
Then, in the 20th century, Colfax and Fowler invented and popularized an exquisite but expensive method of making artificial wax flowers through Constance Spry, which was based on Victorian wax flowers. As time goes by, the feather, ingredients of artificial flowers, is replaced by ribbon which is a more sophisticated material. However, it is not colorful enough to make beautiful and vivid artificial flowers. Later, people found that the feathers of south American birds were suitable for artificial flowers because of their brilliant color and persistence. In addition, the indigenous people of south American have been successful in making feather flowers for a long time. In modern society, the London Zoo has a collection of artificial flowers made from hummingbird feathers.
