A Yellow Glass ‘Basket-Weave’ Snuff Bottle Qing Dynasty, 18th / 19th Century

together with a watercolour illustration by Peter Suart 

Gerry Mack.
Janos Szekeres.
Sotheby’s New York, 5th June 1987, lot 41 and front cover.

Moss, 1976, No. 3, p.55, pl. Z
Stevens, 1976, no. 187.

JICSBS, Autumn, 1987, p.30, fig. 1

Sotheby's, Art at Auction, 1987, p. 380.
JICSBS, Winter 1993, front cover.

JICSBS, Winter 2000, p. 13, fig. 40
Moss et al., 1996-2009, vol. 2002, no. 819.

It is in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The basketweave design, popular at court from the mid-Qing period, may have originated well before that period. References to oil-basket glass snuff bottles are found in the Yongzheng archival records as early as 1723, although it is likely that the characterisation often refers to the shape of the bottle rather than to this kind of basketweave design, especially where inlay work is mentioned. See Sale 2, lot 56 and Sale 6, lot 184 for examples in other materials. This design was still being made imperially in the Daoguang period. It appears on an extraordinary enamelled porcelain bottle made during the latter part of the Qianlong era, complete with reign mark (Kleiner 1999, no. 138 and Chinese Snuff Bottles No. 5, p. 74, fig. 88).

Owing to its impressive provenance, this is one of the most frequently published and exhibited bottles in the collection. It is a strong candidate for a Qianlong date. The relatively low intensity of the yellow is reminiscent of Sale 5, lot 133: it is probably among the earlier shades of yellow produced at the court, but also likely to have remained in continued use thereafter. Genuine early basketweave bottles in yellow glass are extremely rare, although see another in Kleiner 1990, no. 7.They also exist in other colours (see Sale 2, lot 71, Moss, Graham, and Tsang, 1993, no. 352, and Stevens 1976, no. 159, for instance), but even these are infrequently found. Given the proliferation of basket-weave bottles in other materials, it is suprising to find so few in yellow glass.

The matching of design to form here is spectacular, with each vertical strand of wickerwork tapering elegantly towards foot and neck in order to adjust them to the curving surface. Because the compressed form is so radically different from the bulbous form that it emulates (that of a container for liquid, possibly oil, encased in protective wickerwork wrapping), there is of necessity some departure from realism at the narrow sides.

The bottle was certainly blown, probably into a mould, but there is no evidence that the basket-work design was included in the mould; it must have been added at the jade workshops, where the requisite lapidary skills were available.