1730-1850

Details

**A FINE AND RARE TURQUOISE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
1730-1850
Of compressed pear form with recessed foot, with a layer of opaque mottling sandwiched between two colored transparent layers, the color of soft, pale greenish-blue tone, glass stopper with pearl finial and vinyl collar
2 3/16 in. (5.65 cm.) high

Provenance

Raymond Li (Hong Kong, 1980)

Literature

Raymond Li, The Medicine-Snuff Bottle Connection. Chinese Miniature Containers. A Dual Role, p. 67, no. 292
Raymond Li, Snuff Bottle Terminology. Chinese and English Equivalents, p. 8, no. 2
Moss, Graham, Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, Vol. II, no. 320
The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, Poly Art Museum, p. 97, lower right

Exhibited

Christie's, New York, 1993
Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1994
Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, 1996-1997
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1997
Naples Museum of Art, Florida, 2002
Portland Museum of Art, Oregon, 2002
National Museum of History, Taipei, 2002
International Asian Art Fair, Seventh Regiment Armory, New York, 2003
Poly Art Museum, Beijing, 2003

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

In Snuff Bottle Terminology. Chinese and English Equivalents, p. 8, no. 2, Raymond Li refers to the subtle color of this lovely bottle as "West Lake water" and claims it was particularly esteemed by the Chinese. West Lake in Hangzhou is one of China's most famous beauty-spots. The glass here has an inner layer of soft color which is paler and more opaque than the other two layers.
Sandwiched glass bottles were a popular staple at the Court during the eighteenth century. The bottles of this type are characterized by simple shapes usually blown into a mold, where distinctive colors and textures were created by fusing a layer of brightly colored or distinctively marked glass between two plainer colors.
For further discussion on sandwiched glass and its association with the mass production of snuff bottles to be distributed by the Court as gifts for various festivals and birthdays each year, see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 5, Glass, nos. 722-35.

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