A WHITE GLASS 'IMITATION JADE' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

Sotheby's New York, 27th June 1986, lot 138. 

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. 859.

It is in overall good condition except tiny nibbles to the inner lip and outer footrim. There are some small chips, one centrally on one main side just above the base, another in the rocks to the right going up the side. There is also a further nibble in the tips of the branches on the other narrow side.
"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."

This bottle and Sale 8, lot 1080, are examples of a group that not only imitates another material but purports to be the works of a specific carver. The glass is an excellent copy of white nephrite, and the carver is the famous sixteenth-century jade lapidary, Lu Zigang 陸子岡. The bottle is carved in a style derived from certain of Lu’s works, a style that, complete with the long relief inscription, became the standard for emulating him in Qing carvings.

Copies of his works were made in glass as late as the end of the Qing dynasty, as demonstrated by Sale 8, lot 1080, but this one probably dates from the mid-Qing period. Since the style is borrowed from a perceived sixteenth-century one, it is correspondingly more difficult to date stylistically within the dynasty.

Copies of hardstones are often carved from solid blocks of glass, but this one is blown, with the concentric rings at the lip providing the proof.

The inscription:

閬苑員嶠仙子宅，琪樹碧雲古洞中。彩籃盈載交梨棗，蟠桃供酌宴瓊宮。

Lang Garden and Yuanqiao were abodes of the immortals.
Jewelled trees and jade clouds lay within the ancient paradise.
Painted baskets were laden with confluence pears and (fiery) dates,
Peaches of the twisting tree, and proffered drink: feasting in the jasper palace.

Lang Garden and Yuanqiao are island abodes of the immortals. A pear with grey skin and white meat that bloomed in the spring and fruited in the autumn (thus representing a confluence of metal and wood) and a red date (representing the yang force, also associated with fire) constituted a supposed food of the immortals.