113 - AN UNUSUAL CARVED AMYTHYST-PURPLE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE 1760-1860

AN UNUSUAL CARVED AMYTHYST-PURPLE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE 1760-1860 To Be Sold Without Reserve Of rounded rectangular form with a cylindrical neck, slightly concave lip and concave oval foot surrounded by a flat foot rim, carved in relief on one side with Shou Lao, the God of Longevity, holding his staff and a peach, standing by his familiar stag with a crane flying overhead, the other side inscribed in relief seal script Fulushou chuantu (‘A picture of complete happiness, wealth and longevity), followed by two seals pian and Yu (which, read together, mean ‘a piece of jade’) Height 5.5cm Provenance: Clare Lawrence, London A Private Hong Kong Collection Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd, 7th November 2001, (a copy of the original invoice available) This unusual glass bottle is carved from a solid block as if it were a hardstone, but more intriguingly it is of the school of quartz carving designated ‘Group A’ in Hugh Moss, Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, or emulates the style of that school if it was not produced within it. There is no reason why any lapidary skilled at stone carving should not carve a glass bottle. It was standard practise at Court for Palace lapidaries to carve glass, both from solid blocks, and blown objects, and other schools probably did the same. The potentially confusing reference to a piece of jade in the two seals which accompany a glass bottle in the style of a quartzite carving can be explained by the fact that the term can also refer to any precious object 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