Lot 106

Lot 106
Treasury 5, no. 872 (‘Peachy Red’)
HK$118,750

A ruby-red glass overlay snuff bottle

Transparent ruby-red and translucent white glass, with a few small air bubbles, some elongated; with a flat lip; carved as a single overlay with a continuous design of two bats and two severed, leafy branches with three peaches on each
1710-1760
Height: 4.42 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.54/0.91 cm
Stopper: glass

Provenance:
Private collection, Canada
Sotheby’s, New York, 3 June 1992, lot 388

Published:
Chen Yibing 1994, p. 100, top
Treasury 5, no. 872

The small size of this bottle suggests the likelihood of an early date, and we believe that it dates from the early eighteenth century and probably from either the Yongzheng reign or the very early Qianlong reign. It is unlikely to be as early as the Kangxi period, particularly given the lack of crizzling, but it must remain a possibility. The extraordinary fluency and technical skills exhibited by the rendering of the two bats here may indicate the height of glass carving from the early part of the Qianlong reign.