90 - A CARVED ‘IMPERIAL-YELLOW’ GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1810-1850

A CARVED ‘IMPERIAL-YELLOW’ GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1810-1850 To Be Sold Without Reserve Of cylindrical form with a broad, flared neck, large mouth and recessed circular foot, carved in low-relief with a continuous design of a four-clawed dragon, spewing forth a stream of vapour in which is contained a flaming pearl amongst clouds Height: 7cm Provenance: C. K. Liang Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd, 16th July 1995, (a copy of the original invoice available) The court produced a large number of bottles each year as gifts to officials and others on certain occasions (there are records of 500 glass bottles being ordered from the Palace workshops for a single festival in the late eighteenth century). Ample evidence in reign-marked ceramics shows that these sometimes bore four-clawed dragons, the design being suited to the recipient rather than the donor, since only the Imperial family was entitled to use five-clawed dragons, while lesser officials were granted the right to four-clawed dragons. The implication here is that the gift was from the Court, whose prerogative the colour yellow was, as an honour to a Courtier entitled to the use of a four-clawed dragon The dating of this bottle is based upon the form, which echoes a series of blue and white porcelain bottles which did not become popular until the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century (see, for instance, Lilla S. Perry, Chinese Snuff Bottles. The Adventures and Studies of a Collector, no. 55). It is also based upon the unusually wide mouth, which apparently became a popular feature during the first half of the nineteenth century and upon the style of the dragon. As an Imperial yellow bottle, it is unique for the same three reasons Ω This Lot was imported from outside of the UK, under the Temporary Admission regime 5% import VAT will be charged on the ‘hammer” and 20% VAT will be charged on the ‘buyer’s premium