AN IMPERIAL 'REALGAR' GLASS FACETTED VASEQING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

of hexagonal section, supported on a low foot of conforming shape, the bulging body tapering to the waisted neck collared by a raised fillet below a flared mouth, the glass of opaque orange, yellow ochre and ruby-red colours swirled together to resemble the realgar mineral

Christie’s London, 1st December 1997, lot 45 (one of a pair).

China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2005-6, p. 304, cat. no. 234 (right).

Emily Byrne Curtis, Pure Brightness Shines Everywhere. The Glass of China, Hampshire and Vermont, 2004, p. 73, fig. 8.9.

The vase is in overall good condition. There are occasional minute nicks to the rim and footrim, including one possibly slightly polished at the mouth and another at the foot. There are also natural pinholes and expected light wear and scratches to the surface. The actual colour is consistent with 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 pair to this vase was sold in these rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 112. Its form, made of glass simulating the striking orange-red coloured arsenic sulphide mineral ‘realgar’, is unusual although a pair of vases of this shape and colouration can be found in the British Museum, London, one of which is illustrated in Soame Jenyns and William Watson, Chinese Art. The Minor Arts II, London, 1965, p. 144, pl. 81. Jenyns and Watson in their cataloguing of the British Museum vases mention, ibid., p. 144, that they were originally part of the Sloane collection and came to the museum in 1753. Regina Krahl in China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795, op.cit., p. 450, notes that the British Museum vases provide a useful terminus ante quem for the present example. Interestingly, the Sloane collection further contained a pair of bowls and four cups, made in glass simulating realgar.

See also a set of ten realgar glass cups, acquired in Guangzhou and brought back to Europe on the Kronprins Christian in 1732, now in the collection of the Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen, included in Bente Dam Mikkelsen et. al. ed., Ethnographic Objects in the Royal Danish Kunstkammer, 1650-1800, Copenhagen, 1980, p. 218, nos. Ebc 71-82. The cups are of a similar group of realgar glass to this vase, with a dull ochre inner layer and vividly coloured outer skin of variegated scarlet and ochre with some hints of green. The scarlet, a colour introduced by the Jesuit missionary artist Kilian Stumpf working in the Imperial Glass Workshop around 1796, is in fact transparent ruby-red colouration. However, it appears a different colour when placed on top of an opaque yellow or ochre ground.