A RUBY-RED AND SNOWFLAKE GROUND 'SUTAO' GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

Christie's London, 12th October 1987, lot 295. 

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 170. 
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997. 

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. 739.

The snuff bottle is in overall very good condition with just one barely perceptible nibble to the outer footrim, as well as one or two very tiny surface scratches.
"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 example along with lots 58 and 136 in this auction are less complex in construction than the sandwiched glass group. They consist of one colour of glass cased in another, contrasting colours added in planes. This was apparently considered an uncarved overlay (sutao 素套). Were this bottle carved with a cameo design, the red layer cut through to reveal the snowstorm glass beneath, it would become a standard red overlay, but in this case the glassmaker chose to produce a cased bottle, with no intention of it being carved with a cameo design. This is obvious from the detailing and polishing of the bottle, which is complete and self-sufficient, and from the minimal thickness of the red overlay, which would allow very little depth to the carving if transformed into a standard courtly cameo overlay. There would be no point in neatly carving the foot and polishing the exterior if it were then to be re-carved as a cameo.

Most of these multi-colour overlay types as plain bottles seem to be from the late Qing and were probably inspired by foreign collectors entering the marketplace in China and encouraging glassmakers to make intriguing examples to demonstrate how overlay bottles were produced. This example is of an earlier period, and based upon the evidence of shape, detailing, and colours, a date from the second half of the eighteenth century seems appropriate.

The shape, detailing, and broad, crisply carved foot rim are typical of hardstone bottles, but this bottle could not possibly have been carved from a solid block. An overlay of this type has to be blown, and the elongated bubbles at the neck, stretching uniformly away from the blow-iron, prove that indeed it was. The evenness of the thin red layer, moreover, suggests that the shape was largely determined by the glassblower rather than the lapidary, presumably with the aid of a mould, although there is no indication of its use.