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Lot Essay
This bottle belongs to a well-known group of sandwiched pink glass bottles in the form of lotus flowers, probably made at the Court for distribution as gifts. Most of the bottles from this group tend to be of flattened, ovoid or rounded form. The elegant meiping form of the present bottle is more unusual within the group. Another sandwiched pink glass bottle of this shape was sold at Christie’s New York, 19-20 September 2013, lot 1616.
For examples of flattened, ovoid form, see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Volume 5, Part 2, Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 324-26, no. 818, and the example from the Hildegard Schonfeld Collection sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2013, lot 1097. Rounded versions include one from the Blanche B. Extstein Collection sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2002, as well as one in Moss, Graham, Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, Volume II, New York, 1993, p. 597, no. 358.
As the lotus emerges pristinely white on a straight stem from the murky waters, it became a symbol of purity and integrity and came to be associated with the upright gentleman.
For examples of flattened, ovoid form, see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Volume 5, Part 2, Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 324-26, no. 818, and the example from the Hildegard Schonfeld Collection sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2013, lot 1097. Rounded versions include one from the Blanche B. Extstein Collection sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2002, as well as one in Moss, Graham, Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, Volume II, New York, 1993, p. 597, no. 358.
As the lotus emerges pristinely white on a straight stem from the murky waters, it became a symbol of purity and integrity and came to be associated with the upright gentleman.