TABATIERE EN VERRE DOUBLE OVERLAY CHINE , POSSIBLEMENT IMPERIAL, XVIIIESIECLE

Eric Young, Sotheby's London, 3 March 1987, lot 57.
Christie's South Kensington, 14 November 2002.

The tied brocade sash is the meaning for Imperial Gift. This type of clothe is called "fu" like happiness and also like the bat. This may give a prosperous combination for an imperial birthday present. The small size and wide mouth are also features that allow an Imperial attribution.

A glass overlay bottle decorated with a tied sash is in the Qing Court Collection and illustrated in Snuff Bottles, The Complete Collection of Treasures of The Palace Museum, no.31 ; another double overlay also with the brocade sash pattern is illustrated in Flacons Tabatières de Chine de la Collection du Commandeur, no. 18, p.11 ; see also Geng Baochang and Zhao Binghua, ed. Zangguo bianhu Zhenshang, Hong Kong 1992, no.58.