GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
18TH CENTURY
4.8 cm high (without stopper)
The bottle is of rounded form, slightly tapering towards the foot, rising to a cylindrical neck and supported on a raised foot rim. The black layer is suffused with gold flecks and trapped between two layers of colourless glass. The coral stopper with integral finial is mounted with a gilt metal collar.
The technique of blowing a coloured layer of glass in between two colourless layers is known as 'sandwiched' glass. The small gold flecks on the black layer of the present bottle possibly imitates the mineral aventurine. It is unusual for bottles of this type to have a raised foot rim.
Provenance:
Formerly in the collection of Bob C. Stevens
Formerly in the collection of Pamela R. Lessing Friedman
Formerly in the Morpurgo Collection
Published:
Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles XI - The Snowy Peaks Collection, A Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles formed by Pamela R. Lessing Friedman, Hong Kong, 2005, pl.2.