| | | | Materials and Methods  | How spectacles and their cases were made has much to do with how they were worn. Early Chinese spectacles were balanced on the cheeks and often utilized thread or string as temple pieces to hold the frame to the face. Strings were pulled through small holes in the frames and either looped over the ears of the wearer or small weights were attached which hung low behind the ear. A small pad at the bridge of the spectacles kept them pressed against the forehead. Later, spectacles were manufactured with long, jointed temple pieces, which allowed them to fold around the head of the wearer. The temple ends were then tied to together at the back of the head. | Chinese spectacle frames were often made of horn, wood, brass, silver, tortoise shell, and lacquer. To shape horn into frames, it was first heated, then split and finally shaped to hold lenses. Later, silver or Pai-tung was used. | A majority of lenses were made of glass, however, quartz and mica lenses were also created making both clear and shaded lenses. Lenses were often thought to have medicinal properties and could impart protection as well as good health. Tea-stone or ai-tai lenses were thought to have an imaginary force, the xoh-shui, which would help visually deficient patients see more clearly. |  |  | Spectacle cases were just as varied as the glasses themselves. Materials included wood, ivory, silk, silver, sharkskin and even the skin of tangerines. To create sharkskin cases, also known as shagreen, Chinese manufacturers used a 16-step process. This included bleaching and drying the skin, then filing the surface nubs flat. The skin was then dyed, usually a shade of green with the aid of copper acetate. Finally, the treated skin was secured to a cardboard or wooden base with glue. Shagreen cases were very popular, but silk embroidered cases have become some of the most valuable and treasured. Embroidered cases often used significant images and colors that added to their value then and now. | | |
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