PROBABLY IMPERIAL, ATTRIBUTED TO THE PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1780-1840

Details

**A RARE RED OVERLAY SWIRLED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
PROBABLY IMPERIAL, ATTRIBUTED TO THE PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1780-1840
Of compressed pear shape with a flat lip and recessed foot, the body composed of swirled glass in caramel, brown, white and blue, the effect suggestive of agate, each side carved with a ruby-red overlay in the form of a writhing chi dragon, glass stopper
2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm.) high

Provenance

Christie's, London, 21 September 2000, lot 100
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd.

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

This unusual bottle belongs to a group of mid-Qing bottles attributed to the Beijing Palace workshops, examples of which are illustrated by Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 5, Glass, nos. 993-95, where other examples with this variegated, agate-like glass are cited. The carving style here represents a mid-Qing Imperial group, often decorated with chi dragons and usually of small size, although the ground color here, which seems to have been inspired by agate, is a rare variation which occurs only on a few snuff bottles, and one or two other larger vessels. The original intention here may have been to simulate a carved snuff bottle in an impressive piece of carnelian agate with a cameo relief of a chi dragon.

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