34.3.250 The Long Lived Gentleman Glass Overlay Semi-transparent ruby-red and colourless glass suffused with white flecks and bubbles; of compressed ovoid form with a cylindrical neck, , wide mouth, flat lip and recessed, slightly convex oval foot surrounded by a protruding, flat, oval footrim; carved as a single overlay of red on bubble- and fleck-suffused clear glass with a self-defining circular panel on each main side, one carved as a pair of mandarin-ducks in a lotus pond with lotus in various stages o growth and rushes rising from formalized waves and on the other with orchids growing from a rocky ground, the narrow sides with mask and ring handles Possibly Imperial, possibly Palace workshops, Beijing, 1730-1780 Height: 5.3 cm Mouth/lip: .7/1.24 cm Stopper: glass, carved with a coiled chi dragon, with integral collar Provenance: Private European Collection Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 5 November, 1997, lot 2114 Te Feng, Hong Kong (April 2000) For a discussion on glass overlay in general, see the forthcoming Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 5, Glass. Although this is typical of Imperial glass carving, with its ruby-red overlay (derived from gold and introduced by Kilian Stumpf shortly after 1696), typically Imperial mask handles, auspicious subject matter, and superb carving, the lack of documentation on private workshops working for Court patrons at the same time makes it very difficult to establish firm guidelines for what is Imperial glass carving from the early and mid-Qing period. The symbolism here may be interpreted in two ways, both based on the punning potential of the sound of one of the names of the lotus, lian. In the first instance, lian calls to mind a homonym meaning affection. Thus, this association enhances the idea of conjugal fidelity represented by the pair of ducks. In the second instance, the names of the lotus (lian) and the ducks (yazi) evoke the term lianjia which conveys a desire to be first on the list for the three-level (district, provincial and capital) civil service examinations in succession. The lotus is also generally auspicious, being a symbol of purity, growing as it does out of muddy water to produce a straight stemmed bloom. It is also associated with Buddhism.