A PALE-GREEN OVERLAY CLEAR GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE

1730-1770

Details

A PALE-GREEN OVERLAY CLEAR GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
1730-1770
The bottle is carved through transparent pale green overlay to the bubble-suffused ground on one side with a duck swimming in a lotus pond, and with a carp leaping out of the pond to grasp a water weed on the opposite side. The foot is formed by the stem of the lotus leaf that encircles the lower portion of the bottle.
2 3/8 in. (6 cm.) high, glass stopper

Provenance

Robert Hall, London, 2010.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 5027.

Lot Essay

The subject of a fish with lotus forms the rebus meaning '[May you have] abundance year after year'. The words for lotus (lian) and ducks (yazi) evoke the term lianjia which conveys a desire to be first on the list for the three-level (district, provincial and capital) civil service examinations in succession.

More from The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles: Part I

View All