Revealing the Secrets of Chinese Ivory Puzzle Balls: Quantifying the Crafting Process Using X-Ray Computed Tomography

Chinese ivory puzzle balls are known for their beauty, finesse and their ability to intrigue viewers. From the eighteenth century until recently, they have been crafted by turning, using a simple lathe and a set of drilling and carving tools developed in the eighteenth century. The craft of Chinese ivory puzzle balls has been described as the ‘devil’s work’, as it requires a great deal of proficiency, accuracy and patience. This study presents a novel method for quantifying the crafting process of Chinese ivory puzzle balls. The method is based on measuring the morphological properties of ivory balls in three-dimensional images obtained using X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) scanning techniques. The accuracy of the crafting process is obtained by comparing the measured properties with an underlying mathematical model of the ball. We apply the proposed method to ivory balls from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The results show substantial differences in the accuracy of the crafting process. From an art-historical perspective, the results show that the accuracy of the crafting process evolved during the eighteenth century. They also suggest that the ivory balls we have analyzed have been crafted with different types of turning tools.

Taiwan Intertwined with the World

One of the central tropes of recent imaginings of Taiwan identity is Taiwan’s interconnectedness with the world. This assertion of Taiwan’s place in the world is critically important in a “nation” that is not recognized as such by most of the world. This chapter explores two museums—the Museum of World Religions (世界宗教博物館‎) and the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院南部院區‎)—that explicitly adopt a global perspective, expressing Taiwan’s simultaneous desire to be integrated with the world and to matter to that world, even if only on religious and cultural levels.

Evaluating Art Licensing for Digital Archives Using Fuzzy Integral

Determining how to evaluate the art licensing model is a complex multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. This study explores the critical factors influencing art licensing in the art and creative industry because this industry has potential contributions to a high value-added cultural economy in Taiwan. Due to the high cultural value of the National Palace Museum and the uniqueness of its cultural relics, this study takes it as an empirical case. The decision hierarchy is constructed based on a literature review and expert interviews. Furthermore, we used the fuzzy integral to calculate the weights and overall performance of the three licensing models. The empirical results illustrate that both brand licensing and image licensing groups emphasized the aspect of market environment as the primary consideration for licensing model selection. In particular, respondents considered that the adoption of a brand licensing model could facilitate the achievement of better overall performance value. The reason is that brand licensing made the company’s brand visible by imprinting the brand names of both the National Palace Museum and the company on products. This study can be used as reference model for the evaluation of art licensing by enterprises in the future.