A RUBY-RED GLASS 'KUILONG' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG / JIAQING PERIOD

My Humble House, Taipei, 1994.
Hugh M. Moss Ltd., Hong Kong, 1995.

Christopher Sin, Humphrey Hui, and Po Ming Kwong, ed., A Congregation of Snuff Bottle Connoisseurs: An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. no. 26.

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. 823.

The overall condition is excellent.
"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."

The ruby-glass here is similar to that of Sale 6, lot 172, being equally widely suffused with tiny air bubbles and fading in places to a paler colour. It would not be a stretch of the imagination to believe this might have been a suitable gift from the imperial glassworks and jade-carving workshops for the emperor’s birthday celebrations. The wide mouth here is typical of early imperial glass snuff bottles, and a date from the Qianlong is the most likely – possibly one from early in the reign. Although the design might possibly suggest the Kangxi era, other reasons lead one to believe that it is more likely to be from the Qianlong reign. Known Yongzheng ruby-red glass tends to be less pure than this example, but perhaps more significant is the fashion for mixing ruby-red with colourless glass, apparently popular during the Qianlong reign and particularly on the series represented by Sale 5, lot 23. There is only a hint of it here, but it does seem a deliberate attempt to vary the colour.

How late in the Qianlong reign it might have been made, however, is another matter. The general decline of the palace workshops began in the second half of the Qianlong reign, and the frugal years of his successor, the Jiaqing emperor, cemented it. In certain arts, however, including those of the lapidary, the highest standards appear to have been maintained to the end of the reign, and momentum carried high-quality production into the nineteenth century. Although the Jiaqing emperor may have reduced orders for works of art, including glass snuff bottles, there is no indication of the cessation of the custom of presenting the emperor with birthday gifts from the various workshops. Thus it is conceivable that a bottle of this kind might have been made to Qianlong standards, even if these were in decline.

The overall quality of this bottle is exceptional, with thoughtful detailing of the simple formalized dragons in a manner typical of the finest examples of Qianlong archaism. The high quality of both conception and workmanship are also apparent in the integration of profile and design. The design on the main sides dictates the profile of the narrow sides, but although they are not needed to define it, the artist has carved a series of curlicues into the edges of the main design in order to harmonize the two, turning them into scrolls linking one main side to the other in a more effective manner. This represents a level of aesthetic luxury typical of the Qianlong period.

For another example of this form and decoration in ruby-red, see Sotheby’s New York, 15 September 1998, lot 53, and for a related design on probably imperial bottles, although of a different conception, see Sale 8, lot 1130 and lot 1150.