AN OPALESCENT GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE WITH REALGAR SPLASHES
Possibly imperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops, Beijing, 1750-1820
Of bulbous, rounded form with a cylindrical neck and an indented oval foot, the opalescent milk-white glass with irregular vivid orange splashes in imitation of realgar; stopper.
2 1/4in (5.6cm) high
Footnotes:
1750-1820 半透明乳白攪料鼻煙壺一件
或為御製，亦或為北京宮廷作坊製

Provenance:
Clare Chu, August 24, 2009
Joan and Ted Dorf Collection, no. 218

Since the publication of the Palace Archives in both Chinese and English, the knowledge that is at the fingertips of today's researchers has grown enormously in terms of the activities of the imperial workshops and their output. By deduction, the Archives also give clues to add to our grasp of what was happening outside the palace. However, it is still not clear when Beijing's commercial glass production began. Given that Beijing was the capital of the last three dynasties and that glass production was a centralized process, it is likely that it commenced relatively early and from the seventeenth century onwards, Beijing became the center of glass-making in China. Boshan in Shandong Province was another center, already known as a 'glass city'. This bottle has been given a possible imperial attribution because of the inclusion the orange swirls in the glass which are in imitation of realgar, a known 'palace' output, but it is entirely possible that an example like this was produced commercially in Beijing.

Very minor neck polish to this colorful and well-figured bottle.