A carved overlay 'Realgar' glass snuff bottle, Imperial glassworks, Beijing, 1780-1850. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2014

The bottle is of flattened ovoid form and is carved through the mottled-red overlay on either side to the russet-orange ground with a carp beneath water weeds. 2 3/8 in. (6 cm.), stained quartz stopper. Estimate $5,000 – $7,000

Provenance: Robert Hall, London, April 1994.

Notes: Plain 'realgar' glass snuff bottles were made in large numbers throughout the 18th century, and a large proportion of them were apparently produced at the court to be distributed as gifts. By the mid-Qing period, there must have been many in circulation, and it began to occur to carvers to decorate them, since in most cases they were uncarved overlays, often with a surface layer of brighter color. For other examples of carved 'realgar' glass snuff bottles, see M. Hughes, The Blair Bequest. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Princeton University Art Museum, Baltimore, 2002, no. 185 (carved with chrysanthemums and prunus); R. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 79, no. 109 (carved with pomegranate and melons) and the example from the J & J Collection sold at Christie's New York, 17 September 2008, lot 35 (carved with Buddhist lions).

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART. 20 - 21 March 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza - www.christies.com