Page 124 - CHRISTIE'S Barron Collection Snuff Bottles 09/13/17

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AN EXTREMELY RARE CARVED TRANSPARENT RUBY-RED GLASS
SNUFF BOTTLE
IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1740-1780
The fat center of each side is carved in relief with ‘Om’ and ‘Su’asti’ characters encircled
by petals that radiate out towards the narrow sides carved with futing.
1¿ in. (5.4 cm.) high, jadeite stopper
$12,000-18,000

PROVENANCE

Wing Hing, Hong Kong, January, 2001.
Robert Hall, London, March 2001.
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong, 2001.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 3156.
This bottle is an example of an early imperial type, made at the Court utilizing the
technique of European faceting. The shape is probably derived from European pocket-
watches, which were imported into the Palace in the late-seventeenth and early-
eighteenth centuries.
The Qianlong Emperor was a devout follower of Lamaistic Buddhism, creating during his
life-time a massive quantity of votive objects. Occasionally his devotion occurs on more
personal works of art not intended for ritual or temple use and this is one of them. It is
also one of the great masterpieces of Palace faceting from the Qianlong period, exhibiting
both faultless precision and astonishing carving technique.
The two inscriptions are in Sanskrit. One is the mystical syllable, Om (or Aum), which
represents, among other things, all that is, all that was, and all that ever shall be. The
character on the reverse, Su’asti, represents the wish for an auspicious existence.
Only a few other bottles of this type are known, including a sapphire-blue example in the
Mary and George Bloch Collection, illustrated by Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of
Chinese Snuf Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 5, Part 2,
Hong Kong, 2002, p. 281, no. 793.
1740-1780年 御製紅玻璃磨花梵文鼻煙壺

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