Bottle ID: 774

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WHITE, LIU HAI AND TOAD

Date: 1800-1900

Height: 74 mm

Glass, of opalescent milk-white tone, in the form of a standing Liu hai clutching ropes of cash hung over his shoulders, his full-length robe open and loosely tied around his ample belly, with a three-legged toad at his feet.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no. 235 (porcelain)
Lawrence, Clare. Miniature Masterpieces from the Middle Kingdom - The Monimar Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, 1996, pp. 186-187, no. 87.151

Provenance:

A private Los Angeles, CA. Collection

 

Liu hai was a highly popular deity, appearing on all forms of art during the Qing Dynasty with his string of cash and his accompanying three-legged toad. During the Jiaqing period he is depicted on bottles of differing materials, but is especially well-known within the figural porcelain group. Figures of Liu hai fashioned in glass are much rarer and therefore harder to date. However, the opalescent sheen inherent in the glass of this example lends the possibility of an early nineteenth century date as most late nineteenth century glass in a milk-white tone was solidly opaque.

 

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