A PINK-OVERLAY PINK GLASS 'GARDEN' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG / JIAQING PERIOD

of transparent milky and translucent deep pink glass, with a flat lip and recessed convex foot surrounded by a protruding flat footrim, carved as a single overlay with a continuous rocky garden scene with a low bamboo fence, two pine trees, a plantain, and convoluted rocks in which, on one main side, two children play blindman’s buff while on three more either join in or watch; the tourmaline stopper with a glass collar

Y.F. Yang, 1969.
Collection of Margaret Prescott Wise, no. 373.
Collection of Edgar and Roberta Wise, 1995.
Robert Kleiner, London, 1996.

A Congregation of Snuff Bottle Connoisseurs: An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles at the Tsui Museum of Art, Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. no. 42.

Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 5, Hong Kong, 2002, no. 970.

There is a small chip to the fingers of blindfolded boy and a chip to the end of one pine branch above the boy leaning against a rock formation; otherwise the snuff bottle is in very good condition. The actual colour is slightly more rose pink, somewhat less red when compared to the catalogue illustration.
"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 carving of the overlay on this bottle presents a particularly intriguing feature. The surface layer of glass appears to be frosted or degraded, an effect that at first sight resembles that caused either by prolonged burial in damp ground or by inadequate glass chemistry; and gives the impression that it might be earlier than it is. The effect is, however, found to be due entirely to an absence of the final stages of polishing. The dullness it displays, all of which is within the detailing, is the result of tell-tale roughness left by the lapidary tool as the surface is ground away. There are hints of the same problem on the pink ground, which has otherwise been finished to a rather undulating plane.

What we may well have here is an unfinished bottle, probably dating from the late Qianlong period, which would be allowed by the crispness of the foot and the excellent match of the overlay colour. It has the appearance of being later because it is unfinished, but we have left open the possibility of an early nineteenth-century date, since this displays a general style that was continued into the Daoguang period. Busy scenes of children playing in gardens were popular from the very late Qianlong into the second decade of the nineteenth century on a range of snuff bottles.