A PEACOCK-BLUE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

Robert Kleiner, London, 1999. 

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. 689.

The lip has some barely perceptible nibbles. There are also some typical surface scratches and abrasions from use. The overall condition is otherwise very good.
"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 shape here is extensively compressed, almost to the point where it becomes the dominant formal feature. Formal excess in the snuff-bottle world was probably a mid-Qing characteristic, probably becoming popular during the Qianlong period. Prior to that there was so much innovation in the field that new types and freshly invented designs would have largely satisfied the demand for novelty. Once most types had been well established, however, there would have been a greater tendency towards virtuoso performance, the result being very large or very small bottles, super-hollowed hardstones, and super-thin shapes.

There is in hardstones a series of exaggeratedly thin bottles that qualify as virtuoso performances; most of them seem to date from the second half of the Qianlong period (see for instance Moss, Graham, and Tsang 1993, no. 105, and Sale 2, lot 22). They inspired a series of flattened porcelain shapes with flared necks from the same period, which became standard during the subsequent Jiaqing reign.

This bottle, of a related form, is most likely to date from the Qianlong period, but may be from as late as the early nineteenth century. Its shape, one that appears relatively often in glass snuff bottles and was probably mould-blown, encouraged the glassblower on occasion to play visual games with his interior bubble of air, as in lot 41 in this sale, although here the interior bubble is almost miraculously well matched to the outer form, most impressive, given the fact that the interior finish shows no indication of subsequent grinding or polishing.