Bottle ID: 00494

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RED AMBER, BALUSTER W/INSCRIBED POEM & LANDSCAPE SCENE

Date: 1817 (or 1757)

Height: 58 mm

Glass, of cylindrical baluster form, with shoulders tapering to a slightly everted lip and with a neatly carved footrim, of clear deep amber-red tone, inscribed on the outer surface with a continuous design of lotus and orchids amongst grasses, beside a ten character couplet describing the scene and a cyclical date corresponding to 1817 (or 1757) and with two illegible seals.

The poem reads:
In spring we wander through a land of fragrant shrubs
And in summer we enjoy ponds filled with green lotuses

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no. 197
Kleiner, Robert. Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Denis Low, 1999, p. 142, no. 123.
Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles - The Mary and George Bloch Collection, 2002, Vol. 5, Part 2, pp. 422-423, no. 869.

Provenance:

Asian Art Studio

Exhibited:

Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007

The short couplet inscribed on this bottle is a single poem which is anonymous and dates from as early as the Northern Song period. The reference to 'fragrant shrubs' in this case obviously refers to the orchids (which can be fragrant) depicted on the bottle along with the lotus flowers. With the absence of any indication of the period of manufacture and simply a cyclical date, the indicators for the reign in which it was manufactured are the glass itself, along with its form and the style of the incised calligraphy. Amber-red glass was known from as early as 1776 in the Palace Archives where a pair of amber color glass dishes are listed for 'bestowal'. However, this does not mean that this color did not exist earlier in the Qianlong period, although the thickness of the glass in this example coupled with the incising (rather than etching as was seen on earlier pieces) would suggest a Jiaqing dating.

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