AN EMERALD-GREEN GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE GUYUEXUAN SEAL MARK, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

together with a watercolour illustration by Peter Suart

Hugh M. Moss Ltd, Hong Kong, 1987.

Robert Kleiner, Boda Yang, and Clarence F. Shangraw, Chinese Snuff Bottles: A Miniature Art from the Collection of George and Mary Bloch, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 91.
National Museum of Singapore, Singapore, 1994-1995.
Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 121.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997.

Mary and George Bloch, 'Favourite Snuff Bottles. The Mary and George Bloch Collection', Arts of Asia, September-October 1990, p. 97, fig. 29.
Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 5, Hong Kong, 2002, no. 750.

Good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

There area few otherearly glass bottles bearing Guyuexuan marks (Sale 8, lot 1120 and, in realgar-glass from the J & J Collection, also with a seal-script mark, Moss, Graham, and Tsang 1993, no. 346). Given the circumstances and the use of the name, this can be dated to a narrow time span and attributed with confidence to the imperial glassworks. Nothing about the bottle precludes the likelihood it was made shortly after 1767, although it has been allowed a year prior to that to allow for the possibility of an order being placed to anticipate the completion of the new palace.

The shape is a typically palace meiping (‘prunus-blossom vase’) so often found in other arts; the colour forms part of the known imperial range; and the mark links it to the emperor. The dating is also to some extent confirmed by lot 100 in this sale, which is of similar colour and purity and bears a Qianlong reign mark.

Apart from its lovely shape, intriguing mark, and impeccable quality, all enhanced by an attractive, wide mouth, another feature of this bottle suggests quality fit for an emperor. The emerald-green glass is almost completely free from internal air bubbles or other flaws, making it one of the purest known monochrome glass bottles. Close examination with a powerful magnifying glass reveals but a few scattered, minute air bubbles that are completely invisible to the naked eye.