A YELLOW GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Hugh M. Moss Ltd., Hong Kong, 1980.
Belfort Collection, 1986.

Snuff Bottles of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1978, p. 66, fig. 59.
Très précieuses tabatières chinoises: Collection rassemblée par Maître Viviane Jutheau, L'Arcade Chaumet, Paris, 1982.
Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1987, cat. no. 69.
Les plus belles collections privées de Hong-Kong, Galeries Lafayette, Paris, 1990, p. 10.
Kleine Schätze aus China. Snuff bottles—Sammlung von Mary und George Bloch erstmals in Österreich, Creditanstalt, Vienna, 1993.
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. 67.
National Museum of Singapore, Singapore, 1994-1995.

Hugh Moss, 'An Imperial Habit', Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, December 1975, p. 10, fig. 39.
Snuff Bottles of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1978, p. 66, fig. 59.
Viviane Jutheau, Guide du collectionneur de tabatières chinoises, Paris, 1980, p. 60, fig. 4.
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. 806.

Some very tiny bubbles burst to the surface, barely visible. One, on the side below the neck a little larger and with some brown discolouration.
"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."

It has been suggested that the paler yellow colour represented by this example and also Sale 4, lot 159 and Sale 5, lot 133 may be typical of the earlier phase of imperial glassmaking, even if it co-existed with a darker yellow. Kleiner also suggests that this bottle might be from the Yongzheng period, basing this opinion on a comparison with a Yongzheng-marked vase from the Edward Chow Collection (Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 19th May 1981, lot 608). A more telling comparison is provided by a small cup (coincidentally from the same collection) bearing a Qianlong reign mark. It is of a shape that is known both from ceramics and from the series of cups purchased in Guangzhou in 1732 (see Sale 7, lot 66) to have been an early eighteenth century form (Chow 1988, pp. 22 and 23, no. G.2). From the colour illustration it appears to be of a similar pale yellow colour, and is probably from the earlier part of the Qianlong reign.

The relatively small size is common among early faceted bottles of this form. Smaller and chubbier than the Yongzheng-marked example of lot 94 in this sale, it is very similar in shape and size to Sale 3, lot 127 and Sale 6, lot 236, both of which can be dated with some confidence to the earlier part of the eighteenth century.

This one also features the typical wide mouth that leaves an unusually narrow lip and has surface patination on the foot remarkably similar to both the Yongzheng-marked bottle. It appears increasingly likely that this pleasantly dumpy, bulbous shape, with its wide mouth and crisp faceting, is a typical imperial-glassworks product of the decades from the late Kangxi into the Qianlong reign.