An unusual pink overlay Peking glass bottle vase, Qianlong period, with globular body and tall, the opaque milky white body decorated in rich overlay with bats, butterflies and other insects hovering amid floral shrubs, pitted rocks and vaporous clouds, the base incised with Qianlong four character mark, 20cm high. The bottle from the top of the neck to the base of the neck is gradated very pale yellow through to white. Sold for £21,080. Photo Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions

NEWBURY.- A sale of ‘Interiors’ at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions saw renewed interest in Chinese glass, with a fine and unusual vase from the Peking Glass Factory achieving a staggering £21,080.The sale was held at the auctioneers Donnington Priory saleroom in Newbury, Berkshire earlier this week. 

The leading vase was laden with auspicious wishes, all in a purple tone, a colour directly associated with the emperor and the imperial family. 

Its rich propitious overlay took the form of bats, fu, homophone with happiness, the rock symbolising endurance and the lingzhi fungi and narcissi, symbolic of immortality. These multiple blessings and colour imply that the vase was intended as a birthday gift, for a member of the Imperial household, maybe even destined for the Qianlong emperor himself. 

Originating from The Peking Glass Factory, established in the Imperial City by the Jesuit missionary Kilian Stumpf (1655-1720), this vase was a fine example of the pieces produced during the workshops peak in the early reign of the Quianlong emperor between 1740 and 1760. 

Palace records show that Jesuits with expertise in certain Western glassmaking techniques were active in the workshop at this time, however after 1760 glass production in the palace workshop declined rapidly, as did the quality of the wares. 

Eager buyers around the world competed for this rare example and sent bidding sailing past the pre-sale estimate, with it finally selling for £21,080, an exceptional price for a vase of its type. [Lot 26] 

Further Highlights:
Johannes Hendrik Everson (1906-1995), Still life with lobster. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated 1958 lower left [Lot 445] Sold for: £8,680
Pierre Le Faguays (French 1892-1935), Dancer with Thrysus, an Art Deco bronze figure, gilt painted and patinated on a stepped marble base, signed on the base [Lot 182] Sold for: £7,440
Richard W.Lange for Rosenthal und Maeder, Parachute lady, an Art Deco cold painted bronze and ivory table lamp, circa 193. [Lot 183] Sold for: £6,820
Marcel Dyf (1899-1985), Fille devant un mirror. Oil on canvas. Signed lower right [Lot 399] Sold for: £5,208
Hans Bratturd for Hove Mobler, a set of eight Scandia stacking chairs, designed 1957, with rosewood veneered laminated slats, on chromium plated bases and a rosewood veneered and chromium plated dining table [Lot 192] Sold for: £4,712 4A George I walnut 'Batchelors' chest, circa 1725, with brushing slide and four drawers [Lot 781] Sold for: £4,340
17 Blanc de Chine figures of Guanyin, presented in different poses, seated or standing [Lot 64] Sold for: £3,720
Archibald knox for Liberty & Co., an English Pewter and enamel clock [Lot 167] Sold for: £3,720
A Victorian figured walnut and gilt metal mounted side cabinet, circa 1860 1860 [Lot 500] Sold for: £3,472.