Bottle ID: 00217

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YELLOW, SPECKLED "SANDWICH GLASS" W/CONCAVE PANELS

Date: 1740-1800

Height: 49 mm

Glass, of flattened rounded form, of speckled yellow sandwich glass, each main side with a flat circular panel following the outer circular edge of the bottle.

Possibly Imperial.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no. 57.
Lawrence, Clare. Miniature Masterpieces from the Middle Kingdom - The Monimar Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, 1996, pp. 222-223, no. 105.5.
Sotheby's, New York, March 17, 1997, lot 69, The Canadian Collection.

Provenance:

Hugh Moss [HK] Ltd.
Shanghai Antique Store

Exhibited:

Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007

This bottle is not part of the opaque yellow glass group from the eighteenth century which is of one consistent monochrome tone. It may, or may not, be a product of the Palace Workshops, although it is of a high quality. It is also possible that it was made by one of the glass workshops working outside the Palace in Beijing. Rather than being one solid color of glass, it is made as a "sandwich" glass piece. The shape of the bottle is reminiscent of bottles where the central circular panel on each main side is concave allowing for snuff to be held in it as an integral dish. This bottle is a good illustration of what became available to the intelligentsia of Beijing as they enjoyed the new habit of snuffing from containers that were innovative and appealing in their artistry. While we have some superficial knowledge relating to the manufacture of glass overlays in Beijing, we have little concrete knowledge of the makers of these visually simpler bottles. With as active an industry in Boshan as in Beijing, it is also worth considering that this type of bottle could have been produced at either of these glass-making centers, although the influence of the Palace on the design makes Beijing a more likely candidate.

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