A SAPPHIRE BLUE GLASS ‘ARCHAISTIC’ BOTTLE VASE, 18TH CENTURY China. The bulbous body rising from a short thick foot to a tall cylindrical neck, finely carved in high relief with confronting kui dragons, with bands of lotus lappets at the shoulder and above the foot. The transparent, bubble-suffused glass of a dark sapphire-blue tone.

Provenance: Collection of Ina and Sandford Gadient. Asiantiques, Winter Park, Florida, 2009. An institutional collection in Illinois, USA, acquired from the above. Ina and Sandford Gadient were collectors of Chinese glass and long-time supporters of the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami in Florida. On December 3, 1999, the Museum, an important art institution in the US, hosted an exhibition of over 120 pieces from the Gadient collection, titled “Treasures of Chinese Glass Workshops”.
Published: Chinese Qing Dynasty Glass Treasures. A Selection from the Gadient Collection, 2009, no. 17.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities. The foot and mouth with small nicks, mostly inherent to the manufacture of this piece, see detail images on www.zacke.at.

Weight: 803.4 g
Dimensions: Height 18.5 cm

This specific form of dragon design with its elongated body was an inspiration taken from the kui dragon motif found on Zhou dynasty bronzes.

Literature comparison: Compare with similar archaistic dragons carved on a bottle vase in the Clague collection, illustrated in Chinese Glass of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, Phoenix Art Museum, 1987, no. 29; and two glass snuff bottles carved with kui dragons illustrated by R. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles, A Miniature Art from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Hong Kong, 1994, nos. 74 and 75.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related turquoise-blue glass overlay glass bottle vase, also with two bands of confronting kui dragons, but of larger size (27.7 cm high), and with a Qianlong mark, at Christie’s Hong Kong in The Imperial Sale, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 7 July 2003, lot 710, sold for HKD 143,400, and a related green overlay yellow glass bottle vase with a similar band of confronting kui dragons and of closely related size, with a Qianlong mark and dated to the 19^th century, at Christie’s Paris on 21 September 2011, lot 159, sold for EUR 29,800.

十八世紀寶石藍琉璃瓶
中國。長頸，削肩，鼓腹，圈足。精美浮雕夔龍紋，肩部和足部飾蓮紋。琉璃深寶石藍色，佈滿氣泡。

來源：Ina 與Sandford Gadient收藏。佛羅里達Winter Park亞洲古玩藝廊，2009年。美國伊利諾伊州一個研究機構收藏購於上述藝廊。Ina 與Sandford Gadient 曾是中國料器收藏家，佛羅里達州邁阿密大學 Lowe 藝術博物館的長期支持者。 1999年12月3日，美國一個重要藝術機構博物館舉辦了“中國玻璃工坊珍品展”，展出了Gadient藏品120餘件。
出版：Chinese Qing Dynasty Glass Treasures. A Selection from the Gadient Collection, 2009, no. 17。
品相：狀況良好，有輕微磨損和製造不規範，嘴部和足部有小刻痕應爲製造時所產生的，請參閱www.zacke.at上的詳細圖像.

重量：803.4 克
尺寸：高18.5 厘米

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近綠松石色套料琉璃瓶，同樣兩道夔龍紋，但尺寸稍大 (高27.7 厘米 ), 乾隆款，見香港佳士得The Imperial Sale, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2003年7月7日 lot 710, 售價HKD 143,400；一個相近綠色套料琉璃瓶，相似夔龍紋和尺寸，乾隆款，十九世紀，見巴黎佳士得2011年9月21日 lot 159, 售價EUR 29,800。