PROBABLY PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1780-1850

Details

A RARE EMBELLISHED BLUE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
PROBABLY PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1780-1850
The translucent blue glass bottle with raised oval panels on either side is embellished with finely cut mother-of-pearl, on one side with a magpie perched in a flowering prunus tree, the reverse with a butterfly amidst trees with falling leaves. The narrow sides are carved with panels in imitation of bamboo.
2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm.) high, quartz stopper

Provenance

Gerry P. Mack Collection; Sotheby's New York, 25 October 1997, lot 3.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 2513.

Exhibited

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

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve.

Brought to you by

Margaret Gristina (葛曼琪) Senior Specialist, VP

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

The fine quality of this bottle establishes its rarity among embellished glass snuff bottles. Not only is the applied shell incised to enhance the viewers interpretation of the foliage and birds, but it is applied in such thin sections that it allows light to shine through, showing the attractive green and blue iridescent colors of the shell.

Another blue glass bottle with similar shell embellishment was in the collection of Lila S. Perry, illustrated in her book Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Adventures and Studies of a Collector, Rutland, Vermont, 1960, p. 146, no. 160.

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

View All