ATTRIBUTED TO THE PALACE WORKSHOPS, CIRCA 1767

Details

**A RARE GUYUE XUAN ENAMELED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
ATTRIBUTED TO THE PALACE WORKSHOPS, CIRCA 1767
Of compressed form with flat lip and flat oval foot, enameled in pink, yellow, brown and pale green with a continuous design of prunus branches just bursting into bloom, enameled in red on one narrow side with the characters Hu Xuan and on one shoulder with the characters Miaopin yizhi (A charming object) in regular script, pearlized glass stopper with garnet finial and gilt-metal collar
2 29/64 in. (6.2 cm.) high

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

In the summer of 1767 untrained enamelers began to work at the Court at Beijing producing wares which would evolve into the Guyue Xuan wares of the last decades of the reign. The name Hu Xuan, arrived at by combining the first two characters of the Guyue Xuan to get the common family name Hu, appears only on very early examples of this group of experimental wares. Before long, as the enamelers honed their technical and artistic skills and as they did, the Guyue Xuan mark became standard. See H. Moss, "Mysteries of the Ancient Moon," JICSBS, Spring 2006, pp. 16-33, where the author illustrates a number of examples with the same hallmark (figs. 4-9), and discusses the Guyue Xuan enameled wares, also mentioned in the note to lot 304.

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