A PALE-YELLOW GLASS 'ARCHAISTIC' SNUFF BOTTLE, MID QING DYNASTYAttributed to the Imperial glassworks, BeijingChina, 18th – early 19th centuryOpaque glass of even, pale yellow color with a concave lip and recessed, oval foot surrounded by a protruding convex foot rim. Carved in high relief with a continuous formalized archaistic design showing two taotie masks in oval reserves with plain narrow sides. The edges of the carving have been skillfully rounded and polished so that the surface renders an overall smooth touch. The paler range of imperial yellows is discussed under Treasury 5, no. 797, where its apparently early use is mentioned. All bottles from this group can be dated to no later than the mid-Qing period and show a fairly wide range of yellow glass to have been produced concurrently at court. Although pale yellow may have been available during the first half of the eighteenth century, with the evidence of this bottle we may be sure it continued to be used in the mid-century, alongside the darker color.in this example the taotie masks are decorated with tassels in the shape of stylized lingzhi at the lower end - a slightly humoristic and purely Qianlong departure from ancient style. Mid-eighteenth-century palace artists were particularly inventive in their contribution to archaism.Shape: Rounded rectangularHollowing: StandardMouth, neck and lip: Short sprawling neck with slated lip and small mouthBase: Oval with raised and slanted foot rimStopper: Stained coral on a green platelet made from organic materialHeight of the bottle with stopper: 7.2 cm.Width of the mouth: 4 mm.Width of the neck: 16 mm.Weight: 62.8 gramsCondition: PerfectProvenance: American private collectionAuction result comparison: FINE ASIAN WORKS OF ART, JUNE 21, 2006, Bonham's, SAN FRANCISCO, lot 3114. (compare with a related bottle, dated to the 19th century)黃玻璃仿古鼻烟壺,清代中期應爲御製料器,北京中國, 十八世紀至十九世紀初壺型:扁平橢圓形掏膛:規整壺口、頸與唇部:短寬頸,撇唇,小口底足:橢圓形圈足外撇壺蓋:染色珊瑚,綠色有機材料托片 壺高(含壺蓋):7.2 厘米口徑:4 毫米壺頸寬:16 毫米重量:62.8 克品相:完美來源:美國私人收藏