清十八 / 十九世紀 白夾粉紅料鼻煙壺

Robert Hall，倫敦，1985年

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726

Minor, insignificant nibbles to the inner lip. A natural circular dimpled blemish and some air bubbles burst at the surface.
"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."

Pale pink and white was a popular colour combination for sandwiched glass bottles during the eighteenth century and possibly thereafter, although it remains likely that production of glass bottles decreased significantly with the gradual decline in both demand and production at court during the mid-nineteenth century. While the colour here is a rather more purplish pink than is usual, it still fits into the general range of sandwiched pink glass bottles. The same type of bottle was quite frequently carved, often into formalized lotus petals (see Sale 6, lot 192). Thus we can associate the type with the court, but since we cannot be certain what was made elsewhere we are faced with the familiar problem over specific attribution.

The process in this case is among the more common for sandwiched bottles, a thin layer of powdered glass having been trapped between two other layers of glass. The pink colour, derived from gold, is achieved by mixing ruby-red with white. It is easy to see from this example the close relationship between the arts of glassmaking and enamelling. A pink colour such as this defined the palette of enamels known as famille rose, which revolutionized enamelling in the first two decades of the eighteenth century.

The shape here is extremely simple, with a natural bubble of air from the blow-iron creating the basic form, which has then been compressed during the blowing process (probably by a mould). Although the neck appears to be fairly substantial, the bottle itself is very thinly blown, giving a feather-light feel in the hand.