Bottle ID: 00466

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CARAMEL W/GREEN OVERLAY, BATS & SHOU MEDALLION

Date: 1750-1820

Height: 51 mm

Glass, of flattened rounded form, tapering to a wide mouth, overlaid with clear green on a carmel ground and carved on each side with a bat suspended above a stylized shou medallion; the oval footrim also carved in green.

Imperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops, Beijing.

Similar Examples:

Hall, Robert.  Chinese Snuff Bottles II, p. 128, no. 108.
Chang Lin-shen.  Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, 1991, p. 223, no. 302.

Provenance:

Robert Hall

Exhibited:

Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007

This bottle exhibits the contrasting features of fluidity and austerity in style.  At first glance, the bat enveloping the shou medallion appears to be a highly stylized design.  Yet upon inspection, the ends of the bat's wings resemble comma scrolls with coiling tendrils and lingzhi fungus-shaped extremities.  It is a masterpiece of imperial design demonstrating both the formality and the artistry of the Palace Workshops at their height.

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