A YELLOW GLASS 'CHILONG' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG / JIAQING PERIOD

Trojan Collection.
Robert Hall, London, 1993. 

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 116.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997. 

Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles V: From the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Trojan, London, 1992, cat. no. 4.
Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, December 1976, front cover.
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. 832.

The inner lip has a tiny flake and the inner footring has another minute nibble. The overall condition is otherwise very good except for some occasional trapped or burst air bubbles, as well as a couple of lighter streaks on the reverse. The actual colour is of a slightly colder tone than 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."

One of the chilong here is shown turning in flight, the long body going in one direction while its head suddenly turns sharply back in the opposite one—an artistic idiosyncrasy that may help us to identify the artistic team involved. An identical stylistic feature is found on a red-overlay bottle from the J & J Collection illustrated by Hugh Moss, Victor E. Graham, and Ka Bo Tsang in The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle: The J & J Collection, New York, 1993, no. 395.

Being early and yellow, this bottle must presumably be imperial. From the paler range of yellow glass produced at and for the court, it is extremely well formed. The design, superbly controlled, features lively dragons and flickering flames emanating from a flaming pearl that must be among the finest and most dramatic found anywhere in the medium. The beasts interact with each other with great dynamism, and the carving has been achieved with total confidence and commitment. Indeed, it falls into that rare category of relief carving where, if one visualizes peeling off the relief, the remaining surface would be as flat as an ironing-board, with perfect surface integrity—a phenomenon rarer in glass than hardstone carving.