IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, 1770-1795

The completion of the Guyue Xuan in 1767 for the Qianlong Emperor prompted him to order a series of enamel-on-glass wares, which apparently involved not only the established enamellers at the Palace workshops, but also a new group of enamellers co-opted by the Court. The entire group is discussed by Moss in "Mysteries of the Ancient Moon," Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Spring 2006, pp. 16-33. A similar bottle from a private North American collection was sold at Christie’s New York, 22-23 March 2012, lot 1580.