AN IMPERIAL REALGAR-SPLASHED AMBER GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE

AN IMPERIAL REALGAR-SPLASHED AMBER GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE, 18TH CENTURY Expert’s note: A natural development of the sandwiched effect was the addition of a second layer of coloring to the outer surface of the glass, achieved by rolling on further fragments of color.

This greatly expanded the decorative possibilities, as it allowed a second layer of pattern to serve as a counterpoint to the sandwiched design. It appears on a small series of bottles, of which this is a fine example, where realgar glass is combined with amber colored glass in a dynamic and effective way, but is otherwise rarely encountered. Of flattened ovoid form tapering towards the concave, oval base, the translucent glass bottle smoothly polished and showing dark brown and pale-yellow speckles sandwiched between two layers of translucent amber glass, the design reminiscent of tortoiseshell.

Sandwiching different colors of ground glass between two layers of clear glass was a technique used in snuff bottle production from early in the snuff bottle period to late in the Qing dynasty, and large numbers of these bottles were produced at the Imperial glassworks for distribution on a grand scale as gifts. Realgar, disulfide of arsenic, was used in Chinese and, particularly, Daoist alchemical practice. A substitute was produced in glass, apparently first at the Imperial glassworks in the Kangxi period, for the production of vessels of all kinds.