Resplendent Innovations

This chapter investigates how the innovation of fire-gilding techniques by the Imperial Household Department helped integrate political and religious power within the empire. During the Qianlong reign (1736-1795), Tibetan style sisa forging, rubia cordifolia burnishing, and multi-layered gilding techniques were introduced while equipping temples with resplendent brass roof tiles and gilded artefacts. The sophistication of manufacturing gilded copper objects relied on the multicultural exchange with Nepalese, Tibetan, and Xinjiang handicrafts. It also required careful management of the flow of such precious materials as gold and copper as well as the necessary labour resources in the form of skilled court and contract artisans.