A RARE PINK OVERLAY GLASS BOTTLE VASE MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

the globular body surmounted by a tall flared cylindrical neck, the exterior skilfully carved through the pink overlay to the white ground with a continuous scene depicting bats soaring with outstretched wings amidst lingzhi-shaped clouds, all above butterflies fluttering over floral shrubs issuing from jagged rockwork, the pink base incised with a four-character reign mark in a circle around the foot

It is extremely rare to find an Imperial glass vase decorated with carved pink overlays, and no precise counterpart appears to be recorded. For a smaller vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing of baluster form and flared mouth, carved through more commonly found ruby-red overlays, see Zhang Rong, Luster of Autumn Water. Glass of the Qing Imperial Workshop, Beijing, 2005, cat. no. 55. The Palace Museum vase shares the same rare treatment of the mark as the current example, where the four-character mark is incised around the underside of the foot.

For another glass vase with closely related style of carved overlay decoration and similar treatment of the mark, see a blue overlay glass vase from the collection of Professor P.H. and Mrs. T. Plesch, sold in our London rooms, 12th November 1979, lot 81 and again in these rooms, 25th November 2014, lot 1104. Compare also a similarly decorated Qianlong mark and period vase, from the K.F. Lee collection, sold in our London rooms, 16th June 1998, lot 123, and included in the exhibition Elegance and Radiance. The Grandeur in Qing Glass, The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2000, cat. no. 106.

The decoration on this charming vase is notable for its lively and naturalistic scene of butterflies hovering over flowering plants, and was probably created for the occasion of a birthday. The motif of nandina (tianzhu), narcissus (shuixian), lingzhi and rocks convey the wish for blessings on one’s birthday, a wish that is reinforced through the butterflies which symbolise longevity.