PROBABLY IMPERIAL, ATTRIBUTED TO THE PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1730-1780

With its sumptuous, gem-like colour and superb composition and carving, this elegant bottle unquestionably ranks among the finest carved glass bottles produced during the Qianlong period. The Imperial attribution is based upon the form, decoration and superb quality of artistry. The characteristics of this group include impeccable formal integrity, vibrant colour and confident design and carving. The relief is carefully undercut, unusually well rounded and evenly polished, and conveys a strong sense of three-dimensionality.

Double-gourd-form bottles with designs of further superimposed gourds were a popular staple at the Court. A red overlay white glass bottle of this general design, but with three of the nine smaller gourds forming the foot, is illustrated by Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 5, Glass, pp. 483-85, no. 901.
This idea of higher relief double-gourds on a double-gourd ground can also be found on the well-known group of porcelain double-gourds made for the Court during the Qianlong period such as the Qianlong-marked example formerly in the J & J Collection, illustrated in Moss, Graham, Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, no. 231, and subsequently sold at Christie's New York, 29 March 2006, lot 56.