Bottle ID: 00365

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TURQUOISE BLUE, FLATTENED ROUNDED FORM

Date: 1750-1795

Height: 52 mm

Glass, opaque turquoise-blue tone, of flattened rounded form, the shoulders tapering to a straight neck with a wide mouth, and with a neatly carved footrim.
Imperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops, Beijing.

Similar Examples:

The Crane Collection no. 743
Sotheby's, New York, March 23, 2004, lot 31, Collection of Robert and Molly Hsieh.

Provenance:

Clare Lawrence Ltd.
Sotheby's, New York, September 15, 1998, lot 22
Neal W. and Frances R. Hunter
Isabella Dodge, 1967

Exhibited:

Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007

Opaque turquoise was a popular color in the eighteenth century for glass objects, including snuff bottles, produced for the Court. This bottle is unusual both in its translucency and its method of manufacture. While the main body of the bottle is of one color of glass, the neck and mouth appear to indicate the use of a "sandwich" technique. The three layers of differing turquoise colors would have been gathered one after another, resulting in three rings of color that are only apparent when the stopper is removed. In spite of this, the walls of the main body are not thick, allowing the bottle to retain its elegant appearance. Its highly evolved method of manufacture may also account for the translucency of the glass.

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