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Bottle ID: 00487
GREEN, SWIRLY OPAQUE DARK SAGE, OVOID FORM
Date: 1680-1760
Height: 50 mm
Glass, of small cylindrical shape, tapering to a long neck with a wide mouth, and with a flat circular base, of swirly opaque dark sage-green tone.
Possibly Imperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops, Beijing.
Similar Examples:
Crane Collection no. 477
Lawrence, Clare. Miniature Masterpieces from the Middle Kingdom - The Monimar Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, 1996, pp. 174-175, no. 81.220.
Xia Gengqi, Zhang Rong. Masterpieces of Snuff Bottles in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1995, p. 80, no. 56.
Provenance:
Hugh Moss [HK] Ltd.
Wang Ning, Beijing, October 2002
Exhibited:
Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007
When acquired in Beijing in 2002, this bottle had reputably come from a tomb; its surface was degraded (although obviously well worn before being buried) with some encrustation from the damp conditions. It had been cleaned up rudimentarily in Beijing, although still showing obvious signs of burial, and has been improved more recently to bring out the color of the glass better. The very wide mouth and form suggest a date no later than the Qianlong period, but it may be earlier from the Yongzheng period when opaque colors were introduced.
Opacity occurred by the addition of tin oxide or calcium fluoride, a technique which was developed during this period and which dramatically increased the range of colors available. This remained a rare color for the glassworks, appearing only occasionally in monochromes and as rarely in overlay glass. Its form is, however, known in other materials such as the calcified nephrite example cited above from the Monimar Collection, although most of the similar examples in any material are carved with a finer recessed footrim.