On September 16, Christie’s New York auctioned part one of the Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles. For 20 years, the Barrons—among the most well-known and respected collectors of the category—acquired a diverse collection of bottles with a focus on rare and fine examples in glass. The first run of the collection achieved solid results: 151 out of 154 lots offered realized $1,253,438.
Leading the sale was a rare five-color overlay pink glass snuff bottle from the imperial palace workshops in Beijing, 1750-1850, which more than tripled its $22,000 high estimate to achieve $68,750. A 2-inch high pale greenish-white jade lobed snuff bottle, possibly imperial, produced between 1730 and 1820, leapt past its $6,000 high estimate when it sold for $43,750. An inside-painted glass snuff bottle, signed Shaoxian, Ma Guoting, and dated to the Bingzi year (1936), also realized the same price. One side of the bottle is decorated with a pair of birds in a magnolia tree, and the reverse has a four-line poetic inscription dedicated to Mo Zhuang. Other top achieving lots included an unusual two-toned pink tourmaline snuff bottle from 1880-1950, which details a seated lady on one side, with a scholar holding a book on the reverse. The carved bottle surpassed its $10,000 high estimate to achieve $37,500.
Lesser examples could also be fetched for under $5,000: A carved red glass snuff bottle, produced in the imperial palace workshops in Beijing from 1720-1780, sold for $2,750 (est. $2,000–3,000).
