A WHITE OVERLAY ON BLUE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE

of flattened ovoid form tapering to a slender neck, overlaid with opaque white on a slightly marbled lavender-blue ground, carved on the front and reverse with a gentian flower and bud.

Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd.

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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present bottle belongs to a group of white overlay bottles on either pink or blue grounds all carved with nearly identical flower subjects (which have also been described as lily or convolvulus). The bottles vary from elongated ovoid to pear form, and the colors of the glass from opaque to translucent pink and opaque to translucent blue of a variety of tones. A translucent blue ground example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei is illustrated in Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1991, p. 225, no. 307. The group is discussed further by Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Hong Kong, 2002, Volume 5, Part 2, pp. 553-555, nos. 937 and 938. Closest to the present example in carved detail is the opaque pink bottle illustrated by Denis Low, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect III, Singapore, 2007, p. 166, no. 141.

A bottle of slender rectangular form overlaid in white on an apparently colored opaque blue ground was in the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Lionel Rosenberg, sold in our rooms, 26th November 1991, lot 136.