Cer, China, Qing, GLASS, OVERLAY

The bottle is baluster form a with a flared neck and graduated stopper with a finial.
It is made of glass, opaque white, with overlay of blue glass carved in relief. The stopper is made of a pink material, probably glass.
The decoration depicts a continuous design of a panther stting in a prunus tree, two pairs of birds, possibly magpies, rocks, magic fungus and an inscription, 'Ziyun xie, 'Designed by Ziyun', with a seal 'Yu. There is a ring of overlay around the neck.
The foot is formed by a thin ring of overlay , with shallow indentation underneath.
The glass is carved in low relief. This is a 'seal-type' bottle, in the style known to collectors as 'Yangzhou School'. The panther (bao) is often combined with magpies (xi) as bao also means 'to announce' or 'to herald' and xi 'joy' or 'pleasure'. The name Ziyun appears in a seal form on another seal-type bottle in the collection (C.1570-1910), and may be a name of the person who designed , and perhaps carved , both bottles. Yu is possibly another of his names.

Salting Bequest

Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.

Snuff is powdered tobacco, usually blended with aromatic herbs or spices. The habit of snuff-taking spread to China from the West during the 17th century and became established in the 18th century. People generally carried snuff in a small bottle. By the 20th century these bottles had become collectors' items, owing to the great variety of materials and decorative techniques used in their production.

C.1571-1910