A carved pink and white glass snuff bottle, 1750-1820. Possibly Imperial, attributed to the Palace workshops
A carved pink and white glass snuff bottle, 1750-1820. Possibly Imperial, attributed to the Palace workshops, Beijing. photo courtesy Sotheby's
of tapered ovoid form, the glass of mottled pink color overlaid over white at the neck and shading to white towards the foot, carved with three rows of lotus petals above a curled leaf; height 2 5/8 in., 6.7 cm. Estimate 15,000—25,000 USD. Lot Sold 11,250 USD
PROVENANCE: Joseph Baruch Silver Collection.
Clare Lawrence Ltd.
The Alexander Brody Collection.
Clare Lawrence Ltd., 1995.
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: Alexander Brody, Old Wine into Old Bottles: A Collector's Commonplace Book, Hong Kong, 1993, acknowledgements, and pp. 34 and 146.
Clare Lawrence, The Alexander Brody Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, London, 1995, p. 71, no. 106.
NOTE: Bottles of the present type are found in several media, including jade, and glass of various colors, whilst lotus plants commonly appear as a carved or painted subject on snuff bottles and other forms of Chinese art associated with Buddhism or as a symbol of purity.
A bottle of this type, but slightly different in profile, is illustrated by Robert W. L. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 74, no. 98, where the author attributes it to Beijing and ascribes a date of 1736-1795. Another, of flattened circular form in The J & J Collection, was sold at Christie's New York, 22nd March 2007, lot 55.
Sotheby's. The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, 14 Sep 10, New York www.sothebys.com