Lot 240
Treasury 5, no. 887 (‘Restrained Antiquity’)
HK$112,500

Transparent, streaky ruby-red, and slightly milky glass, suffused with air bubbles of various sizes, including many elongated ones; with a flat lip and recessed convex foot surrounded by a protruding flat footrim; carved as a single overlay with an identical design on each main side of an elongated, oval huan disc, carved with archaistic ‘C’ scrolls and raised bosses, attached to and framed by tied ropes and surrounded by four raised bosses, the ropes continuing onto the narrow sides
Attributable to the imperial glassworks, Beijing, 1730-1780
Height: 6.61 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.82/1.29 cm
Stopper: jadeite; vinyl collar

Provenance:
Hugh M. Moss Ltd (1983)
Gerd Lester (1986)

Published:
Kleiner 1987, no. 91
Kleiner 1994a, p. 26, fig. 3.1
JICSBS, Winter 2000, p. 9, fig. 22
Treasury 5, no. 887

Exhibited:
Sydney L. Moss Ltd, London, October 1987
Creditanstalt, Vienna, May-June 1993

The distinctly imperial subject—and notably the simulated rope—of this example suggests an imperial glassworks origin. Such rope borders, derived from Han bronzes in the imperial collection, are common on court works of art and appear on a range of imperial jade carvings, including snuff bottles. A magnificent reign-marked yellow nephrite example from the Bloch Collection (Sale 2, lot 24) is confidently attributable to the palace workshops.

Although the carving here is in low relief and subdued, it is faultlessly achieved, with an excellent ground plane. It also displays the wide mouth we see on what are likely to be earlier eighteenth-century glass bottles. Although it may possibly be a little later, a date from the first half of the Qianlong period seems the most likely. We know that the Qianlong emperor was much intrigued by all aspects of archaism at this time, and a number of snuff bottles reflecting his enthusiasm were produced.

This is not the Sotheby’s sale catalogue. This is a product of Hugh Moss for the purposes of this website. For the catalogue details please refer to Sotheby’s website or request a copy of a printed sale catalogue from Sotheby’s.