Topic: Very Pretty Chinese Glass opium bottles and 2 things i know!

[Andy]

I got tempted at a recent auction, i looked at this collection and thought id have a go!
So , 2 things i know about Chinese Opium bottles,
1). I know nothing about chinese Opium bottles.
2). The only thing i do know is that 99% were made last week.

The auction rooms had them in the antique sale and had them catalogued as 19th Century, i got them
for £40, the reserve! Not a good sign.
They are however very pretty and interesting, so id love the impressions of the GMB, hours of work has
gone into them.
I think the red ones are overlaid and then carved back to clear?
The painted one, is painted from the inside
The one with the cat and mouse, i think is black jade, and maybe Onyx? and not glass.

What do you think,
like, not like, good, or bad?
Andy

[Andy]

A few more photos

[Frank]

They are delightful things, I would not worry about their newness but they tend to be a lot cheaper on-line.

Check out V&A and BM next time your in London, make an appt at the BM to look at those in reserve collection. Then you will have some idea on how to recognise the old ones.

[krsilber]

Very pretty!  Nice pieces even if they are new, I agree.  I thought they were snuff bottles.

I don't know if this will help, but here are a few images of Chinese snuff bottles (what they called them) at CMOG.  Maybe you can look at them and compare them with known new bottles you find on the 'net.  Sorry about the graininess of the photos; the light was very dim, and no flashes or tripods are allowed.

Why do you think the cat one is jade and onyx?

[Mosquito]

Hi Andy,

A great lot. I'd say the green one with the girl looks recent, probably made within the last twenty years. Cat & mouse will be some form of hardstone, almost certainly not jade, but still an interesting example. I can't add agreat deal about the others I'll ask my OH to see if she can decipher the seal on the round red to clear example tomorrow - I'm hopeless on these stylised characters.

Steven 

[Andy]

Thanks all,
Not sure if snuff or opium, i can imagine the Americans being a bit careful and saying Snuff
They look like theyve been used, so maybe i will have a sniff, and see if i can tell
My feeling is they are 20thC, maybe the one with the seal or signature is older? I did buy with a view
to have a bit of fun on ebay, as the Chinese seem to be getting keen, and they may read it and know
what it is.
the Cat and Mouse, i thought was black Jade or Nephrite, and its like another
silly thing i bought some time ago, and did a bit of research on, see photo
The bottle is some sort of stone/quartz, and this one feels like it may have age to it?
Steve, id be interested to know if your OH can read the seal, it probably says
Beijing Olympics 2008

Its all good fun!
Andy

[Mosquito]

The seal reads QianLong Nian...something...Zhi, i.e. stating that the bottle was made in the Qianlong period (1736 - 1795), which it almost certainly wasn't......

[Andy]

 :clap:   

[krsilber]

CMOG calls them snuff bottles, and a whole bunch of websites do as well. 

Found this in a scholarly article (http://www.saa.org/Public/Education_Documents/Nov0418-21.pdf):
"Sometimes opium-smoking paraphernalia is oversensationalized, incorrectly displayed, or mislabeled in
an exhibit. For example, Chinese water pipes, for tobacco, are often inaccurately captioned “opium
pipes,” and small glass medicine vials with very narrow necks are frequently called “opium bottles.”
Opium prepared for smoking is a dark, gummy substance, rather like road tar on a hot day. Getting it
into the tiny, long-necked bottles would have been impossible. Instead, opium came in rectangular
metal cans."

[Ivo]

s black Jade or Nephrite, and its like another silly thing i bought some time ago, and did a bit of research on, see photo

What has your research on that item revealed? Is it stone or is it coloured glass?
There are three varieties in the Mexican tourist trade: you get these in a clear glass ("Quartz") with a slightly greenish tinge, in opaque black glass ("obsidian") and in the black&beige variety you are showing...