Lot 1. A small rare famille rose-enamelled glass miniature vase, Qianlong four-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795); 3 9/16 in. (9.1 cm.) high. Estimate £20,000 – £30,000 ($30,280 - $45,420). Price realised GBP 43,750. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The vase is enamelled to the exterior with an official holding a sceptre and accompanied by an attendant, beside three scholars standing below a large pine tree. Shoulao is depicted flying on a crane above a pavilion. The shoulders are decorated with four cartouches enclosing various insects and fruits. 3 9/16 in. (9.1 cm.) high

Provenance: Christie's Paris, 22 November 2006, lot 26.

Notes: It is possible to compare miniature enamelled glass vases such as the present lot to similarly decorated snuff bottles produced in the same period. In ‘Mysteries of the Ancient Moon’, Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, 38, no. 1 (2006), pp. 31-32, Hugh Moss discusses a group of enamelled glass snuff bottles produced during the Qianlong period, suggesting that these closely relate to a group of Guyue Xuan marked enamelled glass snuff bottles also produced during the Qianlong reign. Moss proposes that the production of these snuff bottles must have started in mid-1767, dating them between approximately 1770 and 1799. He states that production might have stopped in 1799 after the emperor had passed away, as the objects had a direct association with the emperor. 

Comparable enamelled glass snuff bottles are illustrated by Robert Kleiner in Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Denis Low, Singapore, 1999, no. 20. Also compare the present lot to a small enamelled glass vase, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 20 April 2002, lot 721.

Christie's. APPRECIATING ELEGANCE: ART FROM THE SUI YUAN ZHAI COLLECTION, 11 May 2015, London, King Street