清十八世紀中葉 / 十九世紀初 涅白地套五彩料螭龍「壽字」鼻煙壺

of transparent ruby-red, sapphire-blue, pale yellow, semi-transparent turquoise-blue, pale olive-green and milky white glass, with one or two scattered air bubbles of various sizes, with a flat lip and recessed, slightly concave foot surrounded by a protruding flat footrim, carved as a single overlay with a continuous design of what appears to be five chilong, two formalized shou characters, and a formalized floral motif or another cloud; the tourmaline stopper with a vinyl collar

克拉德收藏，天津，1982年
Gerd Lester 收藏

《Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch at the Galleries of Sydney L. Moss, Ltd.》，Sydney L. Moss Ltd，倫敦，1987年，編號117及展覽海報
Creditanstalt，維也納，1993年

Arthur Gadsby，〈Peking Glass Part II〉，《國際中國鼻煙壺協會學術期刊》，1979年3月，頁14，圖5（圖片倒置）
Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷5，香港，2002年，編號987

There is a minute chip to upper neck-rim; otherwise the snuff bottle is in good condition. The actual colours of the overlay are warmer and slightly deeper tone compared to the catalogue illustration.
"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 is rare to find an overlay bottle of the mid-Qing period where the footrim is not in the overlay colour. It has been suggested that on courtly bottles the idea was established as fashionable by the production of the enamelled Guyue xuan group, where imperial white glass bottles were enamelled, sometimes over relief carving (see discussion under lot 232 in this sale). With this evolution in enamelling, the neck and base borders that had been standard during the early part of the reign gave way to simpler borders, which were finally eliminated completely. This bottle somehow echoes the relief-carved enamelled wares of the group, with its crisp, simple design on a white ground, devoid of decoration above or below.