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Lot Essay
The present lot belongs to a small group of superb yellow glass snuff bottles that can be attributed to the Imperial Glass Workshop, probably to the first half of the Qianlong period, based upon the yellow colour that is strictly reserved for the court and the impeccable level of carving.
The present lot appears to be the only yellow glass example decorated with both kui dragon and phoenix, while the related examples are decorated with only kui dragons. Compare to a very similar decorated bottle with a Qianlong mark, where the mask handles resemble more closely of a bovine, formerly in the Katherine Kitchin Collection and the Edmund F. Dwyer Collection, sold at Christie's London, 12 October 1987, lot 73, and Christie's New York, 3 December 1992, lot 364 (fig. 1). For another related example with antelope handles, also bearing a Qianlong mark, previously in the collection of Hugh Moss and the Belfort Collection, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 25-26 May 2011, lot 25.
The present lot appears to be the only yellow glass example decorated with both kui dragon and phoenix, while the related examples are decorated with only kui dragons. Compare to a very similar decorated bottle with a Qianlong mark, where the mask handles resemble more closely of a bovine, formerly in the Katherine Kitchin Collection and the Edmund F. Dwyer Collection, sold at Christie's London, 12 October 1987, lot 73, and Christie's New York, 3 December 1992, lot 364 (fig. 1). For another related example with antelope handles, also bearing a Qianlong mark, previously in the collection of Hugh Moss and the Belfort Collection, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 25-26 May 2011, lot 25.