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Lot Essay
The theme of a mounted bannerman was a popular one during the mid-Qing, appearing occasionally in overlay glass, and more often in relief-carved agate or jasper. For a bottle very similar to this one, see R. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, no. 112, which bears the same poem but has no signature on the base. For another example, see Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles, no. 15.
The Manchu army was organized into eight banners. These were distinguished by flags of different colors: yellow, white, red and blue, each with or without a border. The clue for the meaning of the bannerman subject is offered by a chalcedony example in the Imperial Collection (see Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, no. 335), the foot of which bears the title 'Picture of Victory', implying that the commemoration was of a particular victory and of bringing the news to the Emperor. The Qianlong Emperor was particularly successful in some of his military campaigns, and it is possible that the overlay on this bottle coincides with the most important military victory of his reign. Between 1757-1759, the Emperor conquered Ili and Turkestan, securing the western borders against the threat of the Mongols and Turks.
The 'finger of heaven' in the couplet refers to the Emperor and 'evil influences' had been persistent with incursions and rebellions taking place on the north-west frontiers of the realm.
H. White in Snuff Bottles from China. The Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, p. 59, also suggests that the design may represent the phrase mashang ping'an ('immediate peace').
The extremely rare signature on the foot of this apparently Imperial glass overlay is a sobriquet, meaning 'Fragrant cliff', and cannot be identified with any particular individual. It and two other seals denoting the studio name, may indicate a gift for a particular individual, perhaps involved with victory, but they may also be generic terms simply to lend a literati feel to the work of art.
The Manchu army was organized into eight banners. These were distinguished by flags of different colors: yellow, white, red and blue, each with or without a border. The clue for the meaning of the bannerman subject is offered by a chalcedony example in the Imperial Collection (see Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, no. 335), the foot of which bears the title 'Picture of Victory', implying that the commemoration was of a particular victory and of bringing the news to the Emperor. The Qianlong Emperor was particularly successful in some of his military campaigns, and it is possible that the overlay on this bottle coincides with the most important military victory of his reign. Between 1757-1759, the Emperor conquered Ili and Turkestan, securing the western borders against the threat of the Mongols and Turks.
The 'finger of heaven' in the couplet refers to the Emperor and 'evil influences' had been persistent with incursions and rebellions taking place on the north-west frontiers of the realm.
H. White in Snuff Bottles from China. The Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, p. 59, also suggests that the design may represent the phrase mashang ping'an ('immediate peace').
The extremely rare signature on the foot of this apparently Imperial glass overlay is a sobriquet, meaning 'Fragrant cliff', and cannot be identified with any particular individual. It and two other seals denoting the studio name, may indicate a gift for a particular individual, perhaps involved with victory, but they may also be generic terms simply to lend a literati feel to the work of art.