A TRANSPARENT YELLOW GLASS ‘QILIN’ SNUFF BOTTLE, QING DYNASTY
Transparent carved Beijing glass of decent and even ‘egg yolk’ color, with a smooth finish. China, 1770-1850

Well carved in light relief to depict a two-corned Qilin resting on a rock, verso another Qilin standing, neatly incised detail work, mock ring handles to the shoulders. A Qilin often guards a tomb, sometimes as one of the creatures along a Sacred Way. The most famous example can be found on the ‘Spirit Way’ to the Ming tombs in Beijing.

Shape: Slightly bulbous round form
Hollowing: Standard
Mouth, neck and lip: Slightly flaring, cylindric neck with flat top and lip, broad mouth
Base: Oval, with thick raised foot rim
Stopper: White jade with shades of apple green
Height of the bottle with stopper: 5.8 cm
Width of the mouth: 7 mm
Width of the neck: 12 mm
Condition: Good, with tiny nibbling to lip
Provenance: American Private Collection, old collector label on bottom reads ‘234’

Literature comparison: Important Chinese Art. Sotheby’s, September 13th 2016, NEW YORK, lot 225. Snuff Bottles from the Mary and George Bloch Collection: Part X. Sotheby’s, June 1st 2015, HONG KONG, lot 93. (for two comparable carved yellow glass bottles).

Expertise: Alexander Zacke

透明黃色玻璃麒麟鼻煙壺, 清代

透明平整，黃色北京玻璃, 優雅磨光

中國, 1770–1850年

巧妙地雕一雙兩角麒麟坐在岩石上, 背面有麒麟站著紋. 細節頗為講究, 雙肩帶圓形把柄. 麒麟常為鎮墓獸, 最有名的例子在北京明十三陵神道上.

形狀：稍微球圓形

掏膛：標準

瓶口、頸、瓶唇： 稍微展開圓柱形頸, 平頭與唇, 寬口

底足：橢圓形, 厚突出足邊

蓋: 白玉帶綠色紋

高（帶蓋）：5.8厘米

口徑：0.7厘米

頸部直徑：1.2厘米

狀態敘述：良好, 唇部有一小處瑕疵

來源：美國私人舊藏, 舊收藏標籤帶“234”符號

文獻: Important Chinese Art. Sotheby’s, 2016年9月13日, NEW YORK, 編號225. Snuff Bottles from the Mary and George Bloch Collection: Part X. Sotheby’s, 2015 年6月1日, HONG KONG, 編號93.