IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1750-1800

In 1767, the Jian Yuan was completed in the Changchun Yuan complex (a series of Imperial gardens to the West of Beijing adjoining the Yuanming Yuan, known collectively as the Summer Palace). One of the halls within the Jian Yuan was the Guyue xuan (Ancient Moon Pavilion). The Changchun Yuan was intended as a retirement home for the Qianlong Emperor, although he never took up full-time residence there. The Guyue xuan was completed in 1767, prompting the Emperor to order a group of wares, mostly enamels on glass, bearing the name of that particular pavilion.

Compare the Guyue xuan-marked white glass bottle enameled with a similar continuous design of a wicker basket of flowers, but lacking the carving and featuring decorative borders around the neck, from the J & J Collection, illustrated by H. Moss, V. Graham and K. B. Tsang in The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, vol. I, New York, 1993, pp. 342-5, no. 200, and the example with similar design, but bearing a yuzhi (by imperial command) mark and with decorative band around the neck, illustrated by H. Moss, V. Graham and K. B. Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 6, part 1, Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 226-7, no. 1105. Another bottle of similar design and with a Guyeu xuan mark was sold in Important Chinese Art from the Junkunc Collection, Christie’s New York, 18 March 2021, lot 681.