Realgar glass appears to be an innovation of the early 18th century, and Yongzheng mark and period wares of this type are rare. Of the twelve glass objects inscribed with Yongzheng reign marks in the Palace Museum, Beijing, only a bottle vase appears to be made in imitation of realgar (accession no. gu00107602). Unmarked examples of realgar glass are more commonly known, such as a pair of facetted vases made prior to 1753, when they entered the collection of the British Museum, London, one of which illustrated in Soame Jenyns and William Watson, Chinese Art. The Minor Arts II, London, 1965, pl. 81; and a set of ten glass cups acquired in Guangzhou and brought to Europe in 1732, now in the Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen, published in Bente Dam Mikkelsen et. al., Ethnographic Objects in the Royal Danish Kunstkammer, 1650-1800, Copenhagen, 1980, p. 218, nos Ebc 71-82.

Realgar glass boxes inscribed with Qianlong reign marks are known: one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Zhongguo jin yin boli falangqi quanji [Complete collection of Chinese gold, silver, glass and cloisonné enamel], vol. 4, Shijiazhuang, 2004, pl. 186; and another in the Andrew K. F. Lee collection, was included in the exhibition Elegance and Radiance, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2000, cat. no. 134. Compare also a realgar box, lacking the reign mark but attributed to the Qianlong reign, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhang Rong, Lustre of Autumn Water. Glass of the Imperial Workshop, Beijing, 2005, pl. 39.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 8 october 2019