IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1720-1800

Details

A SMALL PURPLE GLASS FACETED SNUFF BOTTLE
IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1720-1800
The transparent purple glass bottle is of octagonal shape and is carved on either side with a flat, raised oval panel encircled by pentagonal facets.
1 ¾ in. (4.4 cm.) high, jadeite stopper

Provenance

Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong, 2008.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 4747.

Exhibited

Boston, International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society Convention, The Barron Collection, 23-26 September 2008.

Special notice

Items which contain rubies or jadeite originating in Burma (Myanmar) may not be imported into the U.S. As a convenience to our bidders, we have marked these lots with Y. Please be advised that a purchaser¹s inability to import any such item into the U.S. or any other country shall not constitute grounds for non-payment or cancellation of the sale. With respect to items that contain any other types of gemstones originating in Burma (e.g., sapphires), such items may be imported into the U.S., provided that the gemstones have been mounted or incorporated into jewellery outside of Burma and provided that the setting is not of a temporary nature (e.g., a string).

Sale room notice

Items which are made of, or contain, rubies or jadeite originating in Burma (Myanmar) may not be imported into the U.S. As a convenience to our bidders, lots which contain rubies or jadeite of Burmese origin or of indeterminate origin have been marked with ?.

Lot Essay

Faceted forms derive from European stylistic and technical influence during the early years of the Beijing Palace glassworks which were set up in 1696. At this time, the workshops were under the direction of a Jesuit missionary named Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720) and there is every reason to expect European influence in design as well as manufacture.

The combination of an early faceted form with a raised, circular panel on each main side acting as an integral snuff dish is a common feature of early snuff bottles before dishes were made as separate objects. A similar example of slightly deeper purple tone is illustrated by R. Kleiner in The Nordic Butterfly Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2010, Part I, p. 22, no. 12. For examples with integral snuff dishes in different colors see D. Low, More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 148, no. 137 (green); Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, the Mary and George Bloch Collection, Volume 5, Part 2, Hong Kong, 2002, pp. 300-301, no. 803 (red), and pp. 298-299, no. 802 (white).

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