PROBABLY IMPERIAL, PROBABLY PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1760-1820

Details

**AN UNUSUAL RED OVERLAY WHITE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
PROBABLY IMPERIAL, PROBABLY PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1760-1820
Of compressed form with flat lip and recessed foot surrounded by a footrim, carved through the ruby-red overlay on either side with a writhing chi dragon and its young, the narrow sides with mask-and-ring handles, jadeite stopper with vinyl stopper
2 63/64 in. (7.6 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

Both the chi dragon motif and the use of mask-and-ring handles were standard design elements on bottles produced at the Palace workshops. Firm attributions to the Palace workshops becomes more difficult during the mid-Qing period as the growing popularity of snuff taking and the demand for bottles may have encouraged private workshops in and around Beijing to produce bottles similar to those made at the Court.

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