A RED OVERLAY ON DARK GREEN GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE

of oval form, overlaid in lacquer-red on a very dark green ground, finely and carefully carved using the red layer to highlight on one face a figure in a rootwood boat beneath a crescent moon, and on the other a figure in a sampan beneath the sun, each propelling their boats across a turbulent sea inhabited by fish, clams and crabs

Sotheby's London, 20th April 1982, lot 16.
Mei Ling Collection.
Sotheby's New York, 16th May 1984, lot 46.
Ashkenazie & Co., San Francisco.

Vanessa F. Holden, 'The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles', Oriental Art, 2002, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 65-72, figs. 14 & 15.

Good condition. There is a very minor 1/8 inch bruise in the glass at the top of the neck - only visible under strong light.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A lacquer-red over dark green glass bottle (where the dark green metal also appears black as in the present example) is illustrated and discussed in Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Hong Kong, 2002, Volume 5, Part 3, pp. 714-5, no, 1018. The authors note a group of bottles which are ascribed to the school of Li Junting, many of which have characteristics in common with the present example, including the careful use of red-lacquer overlay and the carving of sinuous clouds around the shoulders. Bottles in this group include the lacquer-red over green example illustrated by John Gilmore Ford, Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Edward Choate O'Dell Collection, Baltimore, 1982, no. 130 and a 'realgar' glass bottle in the Rachelle R. Holden Collection, illustrated in Rivers and Mountains Far From the World: The Rachelle R Holden Collection, New York, 1994, no. 39.