The Meriem Collection Part II. Lot 208

208
**A RARE AND UNUSUAL BLUE OVERLAY BUBBLE-SUFFUSED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1740-1790
Of flattened form with flat lip and recessed, flat foot surrounded by a footrim, each side carved through the transparent sapphire blue layer with two dragons, one pair forming the character long (dragon), the other forming the character shou (longevity), a band of blue glass encircling the neck, mask-and-ring handles on the narrow sides, tourmaline stopper with vinyl collar
5.7 cm. high
$12,000-15,000

P R O V E N A N C E :
Hugh Moss Ltd.

E X H I B I T E D :
Canadian Craft Museum, Vancouver, 1992.

The dragon is a symbol of the natural world, adaptability and transformation and is one of the Twelve Symbols of Sovereignty, representing the emperor. The combination of this symbolism with the auspicious long and shou characters appears on many works of art that the emperor distributed as gifts.

The presence of mask-and-ring handles and the accomplished carving of the overlay suggest that this bottle was made at the Palace workshops. For a discussion on the small masks with circular rings on Imperial snuff bottles of the mid-Qing period, see Moss, Graham and Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, no. 347.

The Meriem Collection Part II. Lot 208