Bottle ID: 00915

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YELLOW OPAQUE W/RED OVERLAY, QILONG DRAGONS & SHOU MEDALLION

Date: 1750-1795

Height: 60 mm

Glass, of flattened rounded form, the swirly opaque yellow glass overlaid in red and carved with two Qilong clambering over the narrow sides, looking over each shoulder at a central 'shou' medallion below a bat, the long manes and fur of the Qilong finely detailed.

Imperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops, Beijing.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection nos. 403 and 468. 
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. 544-545, no. 932.
Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang.  The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle - The J & J Collection, 1993, Vol. II, p. 644, no. 395.

Provenance:

Asian Art Studio
Sotheby's, New York, April 1, 2005, lot 365
The Collection of Avrina Pugh, no. 39c

Exhibited:

Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007

The yellow glass of this bottle is unusual in supporting swirls and flakes of deeper golden glass within it, providing an interesting depth to the body of the bottle.  One swirl resembles vapor emanating from the 'breathing' mouth of one of the dragons.  The subtle form of this bottle, its wide mouth clearly intended for use and the gradations in the carving of the fluid dragons, mark this bottle as an outstanding example of the eighteenth century and, in all likelihood, of the Palace Workshops also.

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