Probably Beijing Palace Workshops, Qianlong period, 乾隆 1736–1795

Red glass overlay on a light snowflake ground carved with a continuous scene depicting a chi dragon, frog, scorpion, snake and another winged-creature, together with millet, a pomegranate tree and rockwork, the bottle of rounded form with a tall cylindrical neck and recessed foot.

The carving of the bottle is very well-executed and delicate, and the iconography of the subject is nonetheless rich as well. The bottle was most likely made for the Duanwu Festival, which celebrated the Five Noxious Creatures or Five Poisons at the beginning of the summer. The Chinese believe that the combination of all five poisons forms a powerful antidote against various aches. See Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meaning in Chinese Art (San Francisco: 2006), no. 10.15. The pomegranate tree on the bottle probably refers to the children, whose clothes were embroidered with motifs of the five creatures during the festival.

H: 5.8 cm

Provenance 起源: Linda F. Crawley

Published 发布: Asiantiques, A Fascination for Miniatures: The Linda F. Crawley Collection of Chinese Snuff (2008), cat. no. 80

Ref. 080-L0612

Price on request