Spectacles and Embroidered Spectacle Cases from China in the Náprstek Museum

Abstract

Abstract Spectacles from China appear in many museum collections, and they are popular collectibles in private collections. The collection of ten spectacles and their cases in the Náprstek Museum in Prague shows its technological and material development from the pince-nez type in the second half of the 19th century to early 20th century tortoiseshell and plastic spectacles. As signs of learning, these different types of spectacles and their cases show their social context and meaning in Chinese society during the transition period from the traditional to the modern era.