A glass overlay snuff bottle, Chinese, Yangzhou, 1850-1950.

The bottle has a brown overlay on an opaque white ground depicting on one side, an equestrian traveller passing beneath a prunus tree, and on the other, a Buddhist lion and cub playing with a brocade ball, 6.1cm.

During the 19th Century, Yangzhou, in the coastal province of Jiangsu, was a prosperous commercial centre with its own artistic community.

Glass overlay bottles in this very distinctive style have been traced to Yangzhou and can be dated with some accuracy.

REFERENCE: CSBG.89

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