AN ENAMEL ON WHITE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE

painted in famille-rose enamels on milk white glass, of flattened spade shape with narrow sides, rising to a waisted neck and culminating in a wide mouth, supported on a flat base, decorated with a continuous scene, one face beautifully painted with a meandering prunus tree accompanied by bamboo, the branches extending to the reverse to meet two large yellow peony sprays rising behind rockwork, all below a ruyi-head lappet collar, the neck painted with a yellow border enclosing red foliate scrolls, an iron-red three-character guyue xuan mark on the base

R. Bensasbott Collection, Minneapolis, 1947.
Christie's New York, 3rd December 1992, lot 359.

Patrick K. M. Kwok, 'The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Arts of Asia, November-December 1993, pp. 93, no. 8.
Vanessa F. Holden, 'The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles', Oriental Art, 2002, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 65-72, figs. 7, 8 & 9.

The bottle is in excellent condition with some very minor pulling to the green enamel on the rockwork.
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 is unusual in that continuous scenes depicted on the exterior are rarely seen on glass. The mouth is also unusual as a generously wide mouth is difficult to control in glass blowing and typically indicates an 18th century date for glass bottles.

The Guyue Xuan has been the focus of much debate. Peter Lam, in his extensive discussion on the subject [see The Imperial Connection: Court Related Chinese Snuff Bottles The Humphrey K.F. Hui Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, p. 36] writes: 'There had been a glass factory in the Yuanming Yuan since Yongzheng times, and the painting academy, Ruyi Guan was also situated in the 'Dongtian Shenchu' in Yuanming Yuan. And therefore it is probably not too far fetched to theorize that the Qianlong Emperor had ordered glass wares to be used in this particular garden. The blanks of the glass objects were produced by the glass factory, and afterwards they were decorated by the court painters in the Ruyi Guan. Guyue xuan would be the place where these glass wares were used, and from which it derived its name. It is therefore possible that in the late Qianlong through the Jiaqing reigns, some glass pieces, including snuff bottles were marked with the studio name of Guyue Xuan. This early Guyue Xuan marked group all came from the Imperial Household Workshop and should have the same characteristics as those earlier ones with Qianlong reign marks.'