China, 1740-1820. The compressed ovoid body rising from a thick oval foot to a short cylindrical neck. Finely carved through translucent layers of ruby red, dusky pink, emerald green, sapphire blue, and aubergine to the bubble-suffused yellow ground with a continuous scene of eight Celestial eye goldfish swimming amid lotus, the shoulder with a single catfish.

Provenance: From the collection of Edward Choate O’Dell, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and thence by descent. Edward Choate O’Dell (1901-1982) was a church organist, engineer, and lawyer, but is best remembered in the Asian art community as the founder and first president of The International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society (ICSBS). He was a passionate collector of snuff bottles and formed a highly important collection, published in John Gilmore Ford, Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Edward Choate O'Dell Collection, Baltimore, 1982.
Published: John Gilmore Ford, Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Edward Choate O’Dell Collection, The International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Baltimore, 1982, no. 124.
Exhibited: The Asia House Gallery, New York, November 1982, no. 124.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and minimal manufacturing irregularities, possibly with microscopic nibbles which have smoothened over time. The spoon is lost.

Stopper: Coral with incised bronze fitting
Weight: 72.5 g
Dimensions: Height incl. stopper 89 mm, Diameter neck 18 mm and mouth 7 mm

Celestial eye goldfish or Choutengan is a double-tailed breed of fancy goldfish that has a defining pair of telescope eyes which are turned upwards, pupils gazing skyward. Celestial eye goldfish in a pond were a popular motif during the Qing dynasty.

The unusual combination of colors on this bottle is enhanced by the impeccable carving and well-composed design. It belongs to a group of overlay bottles that exhibit a variety of colors of overlay spread around the bottle. This example is distinguished by extremely fine carving, suggesting an earlier phase of production, perhaps as early as the first half of the Qianlong reign.

Literature comparison: Two snuff bottles from the same group are illustrated by M. Hughes in The Blair Bequest, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Princeton University Art Museum, Baltimore, 2002, pp. 151-152, nos. 189-91.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related five-color overlay glass snuff bottle, dated 1760-1820 but of smaller size (6.4 cm high) and carved with flowers, at Christie’s New York, in The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles: Part II, on 16 March 2016, lot 471, sold for USD 16,250, and another, dated 1760-1820, probably Imperial and attributed to the Palace Workshops, but of smaller size (6.1 cm high) and carved with nine chilong, at Christie’s New York, in The J & J Collection of Snuff Bottles, Part III, on 29 March 2006, lot 16, sold for USD 30,000.

或爲御制雪霏地五色套料金魚鼻烟壺
中國，1740-1820年。壺身剔透，形若卵，小尖圈足，帶柿紅色蓋。壺身上以紅、綠、藍、粉、紫五色套料為飾，塑造出蓮池、金魚等形象，料色搭配自然，以模壓手法表現花卉、魚形，並印刻出花葉經脈與魚鱗等細節，精緻盎然，生動傳神。各類料色襯以雪菲地。此壺為套料工藝，且套五種色料。

來源：美國馬里蘭州巴爾的摩Edward Choate O’Dell收藏, 保存至今。Edward Choate O’Dell (1901-1982) 曾是一位教堂管風琴師、工程師和律師。但在亞洲藝術界裏，他還是國際中國鼻煙壺協會 (ICSBS) 的創始人和首任主席。 他是一位鼻煙壺的狂熱收藏家，並建立了一個非常重要的收藏，發表在John Gilmore Ford, Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Edward Choate O'Dell Collection, Baltimore, 1982.
品相：狀況極佳，輕微磨損與製造不規則性，可能帶有隨著時間推移而變得平滑的微小磕損。 小匙丟失。

壺蓋: 珊瑚，銅蓋片
重量：72.5 克
尺寸：縂高 89 毫米，頸部直徑18 毫米，壺口 7 毫米

拍賣結果比較：一件1760-1820 年五色套料花卉紋鼻烟壺，但尺寸較小 (高6.4 厘米) ，見紐約佳士得 The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles: Part II 2016年3月16日 lot 471, 售價USD 16,250；另一件1760-1820年或爲御制，但尺寸稍小 (高6.1 厘米)，九只螭龍，見紐約佳士得 The J & J Collection of Snuff Bottles, Part III 2006年3月29日 lot 16, 售價USD 30,000。