Bottle ID: 00081

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YELLOW IMPERIAL, ROUNDED W/KNIFE EDGE ON SIDES

Date: 1730-1795

Height: 59 mm

Glass, opaque bright yellow, of rounded form with shoulders tapering to an everted lip, the rounded front and back fascias tapering at the sides to a sharp edge, with an oval footrim following the shape of the bottle.

Imperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops, Beijing.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no. 916.
Sotheby's, Hong Kong, November 16, 1989, lot 10, The Kaynes-Klitz Collection,
Part I.

Provenance:

Clare Lawrence Ltd.
J.W.A. International Inc.

Exhibited:

Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007

Prior to the publication of the Archives of the glass workshops of the Zaobanchu in Yangxin Hall, research carried out by the author indicated that during the Qianlong period, there were four specific colors of yellow designated for Imperial use. While this is undoubtedly true to a degree, in that these colors were specified in a series of illustrated folios of Imperial regulations dating to 1766, the Archives show that the glass workshops were producing snuff bottles and other glass objects in as many as nine different tones of yellow. These are given as yellow, opaque yellow, persimon yellow, goose yellow, wine yellow, amber color, golden amber color, rice yellow and tea color. However, not all of the glass produced in the Palace Workshops was specifically for use by the Emperor and his family. The wide range of yellow colors serves to suggest that glass objects, and in particular snuff bottles, were manufactured in the Palace Workshops for other purposes including bestowal and for use by officials within the Forbidden City. As the fashion for snuff-taking grew in the Qianlong period, the glass workshops became more skilled in their output, producing a wider variety of shapes and colors.

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