清乾隆 涅白地套寳石紅料「福祿萬代」葫蘆形鼻煙壺

T. P. Knight
Parke-Bernet，紐約，1970年12月20日，編號2
Margaret Prescott Wise (編號441)
Edgar and Roberta Wise，1995年
Robert Kleiner，倫敦，1996年

Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷5，香港，2002年，編號911

It is in good condition.
"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, together with such bottles as Sale 1, lot 48 and Sale 6, lot 168, represents one of the most intriguing groups of cameo-overlay glass from the eighteenth century. Their imperial status goes unquestioned, for apart from the series of wheel-cut Qianlong reign marks borne by many, they are related to a group of vessels other than snuff bottles, the majority of surviving examples of which are still in the imperial collection in Beijing. Quality varies across the group and, as so often with glass, and one can presume more than one carver/designer to have been involved. They illustrate a tendency for fairly complex designs to be poorly finished where the relief meets the ground plane, and frequently this more rudimentary style of carving extends to the relief work itself. Sale 6, lot 168 is atypically well carved and finished for the group.

By the 1760s the art of glassmaking had been well and truly mastered at court, and its novelty and the excitement it generated would have been much reduced. There would also have been additional pressure on court lapidaries owing to the massive influx of jade and other hardstones from the south-western edge of the Tarim Basin after the end of the Zunghar – Qing wars in 1759. This diversion may have drawn the emperor’s attention away from art-forms such as glass, particularly since, by the 1760’s, he would have owned an enormous number of bottles of all kinds. Under these circumstances it seems likely that standards in carved glass would have declined, lesser carvers perhaps being more often assigned to glass production while the master lapidaries concentrated on hardstones. Although the court lapidaries could still produce masterpieces—such as the extraordinary Sale 1, lot 8, from around 1780—the falling standards so evident in enamelling probably also affected glass production

This is one of the most impressive of the group, and although it lacks the characteristic reign mark, its design and colours are splendid, and the overall effect spectacular and vital. This design has been thought out specifically for this bottle and that the artistic standards of the early reign survive, despite hints of the more decorative approach of the second half of the reign.