A SAPPHIRE-BLUE ON MILKY-WHITE OVERLAY ‘KUILONG’ GLASS SNUFF BOTTLEGlass, with incised overlay carved in high relief. China, 1750-1820Each side carved through the transparent sapphire blue layer with two dragons, forming the character long (dragon), and a smaller dragon on each narrow side. A band of blue glass is encircling the bottom thus building the foot. Neatly incised lines along the edges of all six dragons as well as eyes, nostrils and horns.This archaistic design is typical of the 18th century palace workshops. Yang Boda, with his extensive knowledge of the archives and the imperial collection in Beijing, states that archaic forms, decorative motifs and styles were adopted as standards for Qing imperial production from the Kangxi period onwards. They were also embraced with a particular passion by the Qianlong emperor (see Yang Boda 1992).Shape: Flattened globular shapeHollowing: StandardMouth, neck and lip: Elongated cylindric neck with flat top and particularly wide mouthBase: Oval raised foot in blue overlay with flattened rimDesign, marks, school: Attributed to the Imperial glassworks, BeijingStopper: Glass, with a red cabochon on a yellow platelet, and a green pearl on topHeight of the bottle with stopper: 6.9 cm.Width of the mouth: 8 mm.Width of the neck: 14 mm.Condition: One very tiny nibble to lip, extensive nibbling and chips to overlayProvenance: From an old Austrian private collection acquired before 1930Literature comparison: SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE MARY AND GEORGE BLOCH COLLECTION, Part I. Bonhams, Hong Kong, May 28th, 2010, lot 131. THE DR. SYLVAN AND FAITH GOLDER COLLECTION OF FINE CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES. Bonhams, New York, September 11th, 2017, lot 9015. The Meriem Collection Important Chinese Snuff Bottles, Part II. Christies, New York, March 19th, 2008, lot 208. (all for variations of the ‘long’ subject executed in sapphire-blue overlay) Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Robert Kleiner, 1999, lot 90 and 91. (lot 90 for a red on opaque white glass version of the same subject, described as “probably imperial” and dated 1750-1820, lot 91 for an almost identical bottle, also described as “probably imperial” and dated 1750-1820)清代藍色套粉白色料“夔龍“鼻烟壺唇部有些微磕碰，整體套料上可見磨損與磕碰奧地利私人老收藏，1930年前購入，家族傳承