AN AMBER GLASS 'CHILONG' SNUFF BOTTLE, 1750-1850 China. Of flattened form, the ovoid body supported on a flat oval foot and rising to a waisted neck with a flat lip. The transparent glass body is finely carved in high relief with a continuous design of two chilong with large round eyes, short limbs, and furcated tails.

Provenance: Belgian trade.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities, few tiny nibbles to the neck.

Stopper: Amber (matching)
Weight: 30.2 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 77 mm, Diameter neck 15 mm and mouth 7 mm

Expert's note: Perhaps the most interesting feature of this bottle is that although of a type one would expect to have been blown, this bottle seems to have been carved from a solid block.

The chilong depicted on the present bottle have long, sinuous bodies, unusually large, rather stylized heads, and lack back legs. This seems to be the manner in which young chilong were depicted, since when fully mature chilong are shown accompanied by what is presumed to be their young, the latter often lack hind legs and sometimes possess no legs at all, having only sinuous, scrolling extrusions that issue from a central snake-like body. The origins of this type of dragon can be found in Han dynasty jade carving, which certainly influenced the palace workshops of the Qianlong emperor, if not those of his predecessors. It seems likely that this is a mid-Qing product, perhaps from the later part of the Qianlong period or the early nineteenth century.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 26 May 2013, lot 266
Price: HKD 43,750 or approx. EUR 6,700 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A carved green glass 'chilong' snuff bottle, Qing dynasty, mid-18^th / mid-19^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related chilong design. Note the different color of the glass.



1750-1850年間琥珀色料器螭龍紋鼻烟壺
中國。唇口，束頸，削肩，橢圓形圈足，壺身扁平。透明的玻璃上高浮雕兩只螭龍，大圓眼，短肢，尾巴分叉。

來源：比利時古玩交易市場。
品相：狀況極好，有輕微磨損和製造不規則，頸部有輕微磕損。

壺蓋：琥珀
重量：30.2 克
尺寸：總高77毫米，頸部直徑15毫米，壺口直徑7毫米

專家注釋：也許這個鼻烟壺最有趣的地方是，雖然它是一種被吹製的瓶子，但它看上去更像用一塊琥珀雕刻而成。

本瓶所繪螭龍身型細長彎曲，頭部顯得異常的大，風格獨特，不見後腿。 這表現的應該是幼螭，幼螭通常被塑造成沒有後腿，有時甚至根本沒有腿，只有彎曲的尾巴。螭龍的起源可以在漢代玉雕中找到。此鼻烟壺很是清代中期所制，可能是乾隆晚期或十九世紀初的產物。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2013年5月26日，lot 266
價格：HKD 43,750（相當於今日EUR 6,700）
描述：清十八世紀中葉至十九世紀中葉涅青白料「螭龍」圖鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較非常相近的螭龍設計。請注意玻璃色料不同。