PROBABLY IMPERIAL, ATTRIBUTED TO THE PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1770-1830

Details

**AN UNUSUAL TWO-COLOR OVERLAY GLASS BOTTLE
PROBABLY IMPERIAL, ATTRIBUTED TO THE PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1770-1830
Of double-gourd form with a flared neck and mouth, carved through the layers of pink and emerald green to the variegated caramel and greenish-grey ground, with a severed branch of gourd-vine growing with seven further double-gourds and leaves, three of which curl beneath the base to provide three points on which the bottle stands, tourmaline stopper with glass collar
2¾ in. (7 cm.) high

Provenance

Grace Nicholson, Pasadena, California (no. 47)
Henry and Florence Lang, Montclair, New Jersey, 13 May 1929
The Montclair Art Museum, (Accession no. 43.382 A-B, 1943)
Sotheby's New York, 23 September 1995, lot 27
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd.

Literature

Schuyler V.R. Cammann, Miniature Art From Old China. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Montclair Art Museum Collections, no. 173

Exhibited

Christie's, Los Angeles 2003

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

For a discussion on double overlays and their development, see no. 82 and Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, vol. 5, Glass, nos. 1000-6. The carving style and particularly the color combination suggest Imperial production from the mid-Qing period into the early nineteenth century. This group is discussed in ibid, nos. 993-95, where other examples with this variegated, agate-like glass are cited. The present example must certainly rank among the most spectacular of the group, with unusually fine carving, and impressive and rather subtle use of the various colors.

Gourds represent fertility and ample progeny, given the number of fruits that grow from a single vine each season.

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