China Chinese snuffbox in pink and white multilayer glass 'sandwiched glass' - 7 cm
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€ 1
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Selected by Sarah Le Helley
Studied Asian art and art market management; researched art in Taipei; worked in auctions.
Estimate € 2,000 - € 2,200
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This Chinese Qing-dynasty snuff bottle, dating to circa 1750–1820, is made of layered pink-and-white glass and retains its red-orange jasper stopper and snuff spoon.
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Description from the seller
Elegant Chinese glass snuff bottle in multilayer pink and white, Qing dynasty, circa 1750–1820.
This remarkable snuff bottle presents a classic flat form, often described as a “spade form,” with full, rounded shoulders, a short cylindrical neck with a wide opening, and a neatly polished small straight foot.
The principal interest of the piece lies in its multilayer pink-and-white glass, known in specialist literature by the English term sandwich glass. The body is made of a cloudy white translucent glass in which delicate pink swirls appear, ranging from pale pink to deeper tones close to raspberry. These clouds and marbling are not painted decoration: they are embedded within the thickness of the glass, producing depth and diffusion effects that are especially appealing when the bottle is viewed from different angles or in light.
This technique belongs to a refined tradition of Chinese glassmaking during the Qing dynasty. Chinese workshops at the time mastered the fusion of glasses of different colors as well as the introduction of veins, stains, and layered colored aspects intended, in particular, to evoke nuances of natural stones. Comparable techniques are documented in several major museum collections devoted to Chinese snuff bottles.
The sober shape of this bottle leaves ample room for the material’s play. From one face to the other, the distribution of pink varies considerably: some areas stay almost white and opalescent, while others show broader patches and colored streaks around the shoulders and sides. Each view thus offers a slightly different appearance.
The flask retains its domed cap in red-orange jasper, animated by dark natural veins and separated from the neck by a black ring. The prying spoon is also preserved, an important detail for the object’s functional integrity.
This type of glass is closely linked to the great productions of Chinese glassware of the Qing period and finds parallels in the Beijing and northern Chinese tradition. In the absence of a reign mark or court provenance documented, no formal imperial attribution is proposed here.
The piece comes from the collection of a prominent collector of Chinese snuff bottles in New York, USA. An old collection label is still present under the base, forming an interesting element of its history. It was subsequently sold at public auction in 2024 and is currently part of a private Belgian collection.
Condition: very good overall. Light signs of use and small manufacturing irregularities in the glass. A minute old nick is visible at the foot. No significant repairs or structural restorations are visible. The stopper and its spoon are intact.
Dimensions:
Height: 7 cm
Width: 5 cm
Depth: 2.2 cm
Weight: 50.8 g
The bottle is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a detailed Mimosa study, including material and technique analysis, stylistic and chronological study, provenance, and institutional comparisons.
This is a very beautiful Qing snuff bottle, appreciated for both the purity of its form, the subtlety of its pink-and-white glass, and the complete presence of its stopper and spoon.
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateElegant Chinese glass snuff bottle in multilayer pink and white, Qing dynasty, circa 1750–1820.
This remarkable snuff bottle presents a classic flat form, often described as a “spade form,” with full, rounded shoulders, a short cylindrical neck with a wide opening, and a neatly polished small straight foot.
The principal interest of the piece lies in its multilayer pink-and-white glass, known in specialist literature by the English term sandwich glass. The body is made of a cloudy white translucent glass in which delicate pink swirls appear, ranging from pale pink to deeper tones close to raspberry. These clouds and marbling are not painted decoration: they are embedded within the thickness of the glass, producing depth and diffusion effects that are especially appealing when the bottle is viewed from different angles or in light.
This technique belongs to a refined tradition of Chinese glassmaking during the Qing dynasty. Chinese workshops at the time mastered the fusion of glasses of different colors as well as the introduction of veins, stains, and layered colored aspects intended, in particular, to evoke nuances of natural stones. Comparable techniques are documented in several major museum collections devoted to Chinese snuff bottles.
The sober shape of this bottle leaves ample room for the material’s play. From one face to the other, the distribution of pink varies considerably: some areas stay almost white and opalescent, while others show broader patches and colored streaks around the shoulders and sides. Each view thus offers a slightly different appearance.
The flask retains its domed cap in red-orange jasper, animated by dark natural veins and separated from the neck by a black ring. The prying spoon is also preserved, an important detail for the object’s functional integrity.
This type of glass is closely linked to the great productions of Chinese glassware of the Qing period and finds parallels in the Beijing and northern Chinese tradition. In the absence of a reign mark or court provenance documented, no formal imperial attribution is proposed here.
The piece comes from the collection of a prominent collector of Chinese snuff bottles in New York, USA. An old collection label is still present under the base, forming an interesting element of its history. It was subsequently sold at public auction in 2024 and is currently part of a private Belgian collection.
Condition: very good overall. Light signs of use and small manufacturing irregularities in the glass. A minute old nick is visible at the foot. No significant repairs or structural restorations are visible. The stopper and its spoon are intact.
Dimensions:
Height: 7 cm
Width: 5 cm
Depth: 2.2 cm
Weight: 50.8 g
The bottle is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a detailed Mimosa study, including material and technique analysis, stylistic and chronological study, provenance, and institutional comparisons.
This is a very beautiful Qing snuff bottle, appreciated for both the purity of its form, the subtlety of its pink-and-white glass, and the complete presence of its stopper and spoon.
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Culture
China
Century/timeframe
Dynastie Qing – vers 1750–1820
Name of object
Chinese snuffbox in pink and white multilayer glass 'sandwiched glass'
Acquired from
Private collection
Year acquired
2000
Country acquired from
United States
Condition
Very good
Previous owner acquired from
Auction house
Height
7 cm
Previous owner - year acquired
2024
Width
5 cm
Previous owner - country acquired from
Europe
Depth
2.2 cm
I verify that I have obtained this object legally and that I am allowed to sell it
Yes
Authenticity
Original/official
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