A Chinese carved realgar glass snuff bottle, Imperial Glassworks, Beijing, 1730-1840

H.: 7,1 cm

Prov.:
- The Hildegard Schonfeld Collection, Christie’s, New York, March 21, 2013, lot 1098 (Sold: USD 4.375) (link)
- The Martin Schoen Colletion; acquired from Belle Schoen, New York, 1987

Realgar is a toxic arsenic compound which tends to disintegrate to a powder when exposed to air and moisture, which is why imitation-realgar glassware became popular for the production of snuff bottles starting from the eighteenth century.

Condition: (UV-checked)
- The snuff bottle in excellent condition.
- The stopper generally in very good condition, with minor superficial wear on the underside.