Lot 207: A REALGAR OVERLAY GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE 1770-1840

of compressed ovoid form, the swirled orange ground overlaid with red carved with a scholar and his attendant carrying a wrapped qin amidst a landscape with rocks, pines and lingzhi

63 mm

Bier no. B111

For realgar-glass, and its popularity at Court, see lot 12. Realgar-glass often has a surface layer of ruby-red glass and during the mid-Qing period it became fashionable to carve them into overlays. The majority were made from the start to be carved as overlays, but others were carved from old, plain bottles which had sufficient thickness of surface-red to allow for an overlay. There remain, however, only a very small proportion of overall output in this type of glass.