Lot 1159
Treasury 5, no.770 (‘Restrained Perfection’)
HK$17,500

Transparent ruby-red glass, with a few sparsely scattered air bubbles of various sizes; with a slightly concave lip and recessed, slightly convex foot surrounded by a protruding flat foot rim; carved on the narrow sides with mask-and-ring handles
1720-1790
Height: 3.54 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.6/1.0 cm
Stopper: pearl; plastic collar

Provenance:
Robert Hall (1989)

Published:
Treasury 5, no.770

This bottle belongs to a large group of bottles that are decorated by the lapidary only with ubiquitous mask-and-ring handles so popular at the Qing court. We have made the point elsewhere that although this feature may appear on the product of any workshop in the country, it is typical of a very large number of imperial snuff bottles. The colour of the glass here suggests imperial provenance, particularly since this appears to be an early bottle, and the shape and size are also commensurate with eighteenth-century palace style. However, none of these indicators is conclusive evidence for an imperial attribution; they could just as well be a testament to the influence of courtly style on private production.

Although this borders on the miniature, it is typical of a range of small bottles that were apparently made at least from the Yongzheng period onwards. They would have held sufficient snuff to be entirely practical, especially at a time when fine snuff was still highly valued, not so readily available, and expensive.

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.