snuff bottle
Object NameSnuff Bottle with Peonies
Translation多色套玻璃牡丹紋鼻烟壺
Made FromSnowflake Glass, Metal, Cork, Ivory/Bone
Date1800-1880
Place Madeprobably China, Beijing
TechniqueBlown, cameo carved
SizeOverall H: 6.9 cm, W: 4.3 cm, D: 2.4 cm
Accession Number2023.6.6
Curatorial Area(s)
Not On View
Interpretive NotesThe colored areas on this object were all created with the “padding technique,” where the glassmaker adds patches of molten colored glass to the body of the vessel. Once cooled, the glass is carved to reveal its multicolored design.
This technique was likely developed as an alternative to the more labor-intensive cameo carving, which required grinding away different colored glass layers applied over the entire bottle.
Provenance
Former Collection
Charles V. Swain
(American, 1914 - 2006) - 1960s
John Fell Ruckman
Charles V. Swain (no. 151), 1960s
Clark Fenimore
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, 4 December 2015, lot 649
Acquired from Pavilion, Hong Kong, in 2023.
An interior decorator by profession, Charles Swain (1914-2006), of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was a foremost collector of Chinese snuff bottles, pewter, and American art who inherited most of his collection from his friend John Fell Ruckman (1901-1965) in the 1960s. This particular bottle ended up with his nephew, a member of the Fenimore family (James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans).
John Fell Ruckman
Charles V. Swain (no. 151), 1960s
Clark Fenimore
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, 4 December 2015, lot 649
Acquired from Pavilion, Hong Kong, in 2023.
An interior decorator by profession, Charles Swain (1914-2006), of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was a foremost collector of Chinese snuff bottles, pewter, and American art who inherited most of his collection from his friend John Fell Ruckman (1901-1965) in the 1960s. This particular bottle ended up with his nephew, a member of the Fenimore family (James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans).
Former Collection
Sotheby's
- 12/4/2015
John Fell Ruckman
Charles V. Swain (no. 151), 1960s
Clark Fenimore
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, 4 December 2015, lot 649
Acquired from Pavilion, Hong Kong, in 2023.
An interior decorator by profession, Charles Swain (1914-2006), of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was a foremost collector of Chinese snuff bottles, pewter, and American art who inherited most of his collection from his friend John Fell Ruckman (1901-1965) in the 1960s. This particular bottle ended up with his nephew, a member of the Fenimore family (James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans).
John Fell Ruckman
Charles V. Swain (no. 151), 1960s
Clark Fenimore
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, 4 December 2015, lot 649
Acquired from Pavilion, Hong Kong, in 2023.
An interior decorator by profession, Charles Swain (1914-2006), of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was a foremost collector of Chinese snuff bottles, pewter, and American art who inherited most of his collection from his friend John Fell Ruckman (1901-1965) in the 1960s. This particular bottle ended up with his nephew, a member of the Fenimore family (James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans).
Source
Pavilion Gallery
Former Collection
Clark Fenimore
Former Collection
John Fell Ruckman
1675-1725
Corning Inc.
Comparable Item/Comparable Item
