Bottle ID: 00102

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CORAL, IMITATION, PLAIN

Date: 1750-1820

Height: 53 mm

Glass, of flattened rounded form, with the shoulders tapering to a slightly everted mouth and standing on a neatly carved oval foot, the body of opaque coral-red tones, in imitation of coral.

Attributed to Beijing.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no. 651
Crane Collection no. 169
none uncarved

Provenance:

Clare Lawrence Ltd.
The Thewlis Collection

Exhibited:

Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007

Published:

Lawrence, Clare.  The Thewlis Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, 1990, p. 23,
no. 26

The prolific use of the Chinese snuff bottle from the early eighteenth century coincided with increased traffic between China and the rest of the world, not only in terms of trading, but also at diplomatic and artistic levels.  Hence, there was a cultural exchange of both artistic endeavor and manpower in the Imperial Court of the time.  This continued throughout the century and into the following century.  As the nineteenth century wore on, the search for novelty in snuff bottles left no stone unturned, with bottles being produced from almost any material that could hold snuff and be sealed with a stopper.  The craving for novelty was also satisfied by the imitation of one material by another.  Generally, the carvers liked to show their technical skills and many of these imitation bottles are also carved, often with typical Palace designs such as archaic dragons.  The Crane bottle is unusual in that it attempts, with great success, to imitate coral without any further adornment.  The glass has been polished only to the extent that it resembles the natural surface of a piece of polished coral.  It has been 'pitted' to imitate the natural holes and crevices in the material.  The color of the glass is somewhat irregular to liken it to coral itself.  It is one of the most simple-looking bottles in the Collection but in its simplicity, lies a quiet dexterity that gives an aesthetic and tactile pleasure to whoever has owned it since its manufacture.

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