A BLUE OVERLAY ON 'SNOWFLAKE' GLASS 'FLOWERS AND BUTTERFLIES' SNUFF BOTTLE Imperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops, Beijing, 1750-1800A BLUE OVERLAY ON 'SNOWFLAKE' GLASS 'FLOWERS AND BUTTERFLIES' SNUFF BOTTLEImperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops, Beijing, 1750-1800Of flattened spherical form, with a waisted neck and flat lip, delicately carved through the cobalt-blue overlay on the main sides with blooming begonia, lotus, peony, and prunus, separated by hovering butterflies on the narrow sides above a finely finished, blue-overlaid foot ring, all against an opalescent ground filled with dense 'snowflakes.'2 1/4in (5.6cm) high1750-1800 白地套藍料蝶戀花圖鼻煙壺一件御製 或為北京宮廷作坊製Provenance:Joan and Ted Dorf Collection, no. 326The development of overlay glass bottles in terms of style and decoration appears to be exponential during the Qianlong period. The blue glass color at the beginning of the period was a clear cobalt-blue with a more opaque blue color used toward the end of the Qianlong period. Compare a similarly designed and executed glass snuff bottle, also from the Joan and Dorf Ted Collection, sold at our New York rooms, 19 September 2022, lot 59.