Lot 1078
Treasury 5, no.714 (‘Dappled Cinnabar’)
HK$56,250

Translucent yellowish-beige glass and opaque variegated, dark cinnabar-red glass; with a flat lip and concave circular foot
1730-1840
Height: 5.06 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.75/1.62 cm
Stopper: carnelian; glass finial; vinyl collar

Provenance:
Robert Hall (1978)
Gerd Lester (1986)

Published:
Treasury 5, no.714

In this example, glass has been prepared and allowed to cool before being broken up into fragments. Those fragments have then been lifted from the marvering surface, placed upon the hot gather of yellowish-beige glass at the end of the blow-iron, and rolled into the surface to create this lovely effect. The technique is achieved here with crisp perfection, the darker fragments all perfectly integrated into the paler host, creating a dynamic pattern of contrasting and neatly separated colours. Although such a material could be said to resemble puddingstone in some respects, the glassmaker is likely to have been inspired by nothing more than the potential of the various glass colours at his disposal, combined with the simple technique of rolling fragments of glass into the surface of the bottle.

This bottle represents one of the simplest forms known for bottles with a neck: a naturally spherical bulb blown and then simply compressed. The neck is very slightly flared, adding a degree of elegance to the form, and a simple although unusual circular concavity has been cut into the foot by the lapidary when finishing the exterior surface. The interior, as is customary, has a natural fire-polish, although the mouth and inner neck have been rendered straight by the lapidary. With its rare colour combination, so crisply achieved, combined with impeccable formal integrity and simplicity, it is one of the loveliest of this range of dappled glass bottles.

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.