IMPERIAL GLASSWORKS, BEIJING, 1740-1850

The pink tone of this bottle is unusual for this group of Imperial bottles, carved either with faceted panels similar to those on this bottle, or with raised oval or flat, dished panels. It was one of the most popular forms of imperial bottles to be distributed as gifts. The present shape was produced in a range of colors, and rarely with a reign mark (see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 5, Part 3, Glass, Hong Kong, 2002, pp. 302-3, no. 804, for a similar ruby-red glass bottle with Yongzheng four-character mark and p. 304, no. 805, for a ruby-red bottle with no mark. See, also, pp. 306-15 for versions in opaque yellow, imitation-realgar, transparent blue with aventurine, opaque blue-green and transparent turquoise (with Daoguang mark). Another ruby-red example from the Blanche B. Exstein Collection was sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2002, lot 6, and an opaque turquoise-tone example at Christie's New York, 20-21 March 2014, lot 2830.