A MINIATURE AMBER-BROWN GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Universal Antiques & Fine Arts Co., Taipei, 1999.
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., 1999. 

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. 815.

Apart from some natural dark brown flaws, the overall condition is very good.
"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."

Once faceting was adopted as a method of decorating glass surfaces, it could be applied to any shape. Here, faceting has been used to create a formalized floral design, probably intended to be a chrysanthemum but so formalized as to be rendered no longer identifiable with certainty.

The crizzling here, evidence of an early product, is typical of the imperial glassworks, and the glass is of the same range of brown as the Qianlong-marked Sale 9, lot 66, which is also extensively crizzled. The crizzling is definitely confined to the inside surface and penetrates fairly deeply into the glass. The bottle does not show any signs of having been repolished, but the outside is extensively and convincingly worn, with a network of random scratches built up over centuries

By the standards of the larger bottles of the Qianlong period onwards, this might be seen as a miniature, but such small bottles do not appear to have been unusual from the Yongzheng and early Qianlong reigns, and would probably not have been considered miniatures at the time. Of impeccable formal integrity, even down to the faceted design, this example is crisply and confidently made.