Page 32 - September 21 2021 Curtis collections snuff bottles Bonhams NYC
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A WHITE AND PINK BLUSH ‘LOTUS-FORM’ SNUFF BOTTLE
1750-1820, possibly Imperial glass workshops
Of flattened oviform shape, the bottle molded with three layers of
graduated lotus petals rising from a further layer formed from a lotus
pad with turned-down edges and incised veining in the lower third of
the bottle, all below a short waisted neck with visible sandwiching of
the glass to the mouth edge, supported on a narrow rounded oval foot
ring.
2 1/2in (6.3cm) high, stopper
$8,000 - 12,000
1750-1820年 擬御製蓮瓣紋鼻煙壺
Provenance:
Sotheby Parke Bernet, January 1977 lot 6
Inman Collection
Published:
Emily Curtis, Chinese snuff bottles from the collection of Emily Byrne
Curtis, Newark, Soho Bodhi, 1982, col. plate, no. 5
This bottle belongs to the well-known group of sandwiched pink glass
bottles that take the form of lotus flowers. They are all carved with fine
details but differ somewhat in their overall shape, from the flattened
oviform of our bottle to more squat examples of spherical outline. This
is an impressive example of large size with delicate gradations of color
cleverly integrated into the design.
A related bottle is illustrated by Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka
Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George
Bloch Collection, Vol. 5, Part 2, Glass, Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 324-6,
no. 818. For an example of more rounded form, see the same authors,
The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, Vol. II, New
York, 1993, p. 597, no. 358. Another is illustrated by Clare Lawrence,
Miniature Masterpieces from the Middle Kingdom, The Monimar
Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, London, 1996, pp. 242-243, no.
115.
See also a smaller example sold at Christie’s, New York, The Blanche
B. Exstein Collection, 21 March 2002, lot 44.
30 | BONHAMS