Archive for August, 2009

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Chinese Snuff Bottles – Sensations in Glass #2

August 25th, 2009 by enie | No Comments | Filed in Antique China

Imperial Yellow

I have already mentioned that a wide range of colours was used for glass bottles. Such colours as sapphire blue and ruby red seem to have been the most popular of the earliest ones. However the Emperor Chien-Lung had a favourite colour that he decreed could only be used by the Imperial family and this was an opaque shade of yellow that is now referred to as `Imperial Yellow’.

Not all bottles of this colour really are Imperial as after his death this colour was available to all. A true `Imperial Yellow’ bottle must be one from his period and that can only be confirmed by the quality of the bottle and the carving. The `Imperial Yellow’ bottle pictured is well carved with an archaic design on both sides and is of the period 1736 – 1795.

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Chinese Snuff Bottles – Sensations in Glass #1

August 24th, 2009 by enie | No Comments | Filed in Antique China

The first bottles we decided to buy that were not carved out of stone were made of glass. A huge range of glass bottles is to be found in all shapes and colours as well as a variety of manufacturing techniques.

Much more research is needed in order to date these bottles, but it is generally now agreed that glass and metal bottles were the earliest materials to be used. The problem is that glass has been used throughout the whole snuff bottle period right up to the present day.

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Collecting Chinese Snuff Bottles – Magical Stone Pictures #2

August 23rd, 2009 by enie | No Comments | Filed in Antique China

From Flaws To Pictures

Everyone I am sure can appreciate such bottles, as the lovely shapes and purity of the stone just cannot fail to impress. What I find even more fascinating is the amazing way they deliberately, brilliantly take advantage of flaws and inclusions often present in the stones.

Most Quartz and Jade stones have an outer layer of a different colour, particularly the pebbles from the riverbeds. They also have faults and flaws plus other coloured material, often deep in the stone. Sometimes these can be very thin skin-like inclusions, in others large blobs are found.

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Collecting Chinese Snuff Bottles – Magical Stone Pictures #1

August 22nd, 2009 by enie | No Comments | Filed in Antique China

Over a good many years we have created, though I say it myself, quite an important Snuff Bottle Collection. My wife, thank goodness, shares my interest in these little bottles, but perhaps I should warn you, collecting anything is a bit like a bug, once caught, it is with you for ever and can be quite an obsession!

Have you ever searched for pebbles or shells along the sea shore, selecting them for either colour or shape and found an appeal in handling them, so much so, that you simply could not throw them away? If so, you have the makings of a dedicated collector.

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