IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1740-1790

Details

**A RARE AND UNUSUAL BLUE OVERLAY BUBBLE-SUFFUSED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1740-1790
Of flattened form with flat lip and recessed, flat foot surrounded by a footrim, each side carved through the transparent sapphire blue layer with two dragons, one pair forming the character long (dragon), the other forming the character shou (longevity), a band of blue glass encircling the neck, mask-and-ring handles on the narrow sides, tourmaline stopper with vinyl collar
2¼ in. (5.7 cm.) high

Provenance

Hugh Moss Ltd.

Exhibited

Canadian Craft Museum, Vancouver, 1992.

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

The dragon is a symbol of the natural world, adaptability and transformation and is one of the Twelve Symbols of Sovereignty, representing the emperor. The combination of this symbolism with the auspicious long and shou characters appears on many works of art that the emperor distributed as gifts.

The presence of mask-and-ring handles and the accomplished carving of the overlay suggest that this bottle was made at the Palace workshops. For a discussion on the small masks with circular rings on Imperial snuff bottles of the mid-Qing period, see Moss, Graham and Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, no. 347.

More from The Meriem Collection Important Chinese Snuff Bottles, Part II

View All