Very unusual old snuff bottle made of Peking glass in dark yellow color with raised carving of four carps swimming among lotus plants on one side. The other side is carved into the bottle with two carps and two catfish on the top with two poetic calligraphy phrases depicting the festive image in a Daoist theme. No lid. Possibly Early 20th century.
"Peking glass" was a popular material used a lot for snuff bottle. It is actually composed of minerals from the mine that was said to have long been shut down by the Chinese government years ago. This unusual dark yellow color might have suggested that the artisan was trying to imitate the precious yellow Shou-Shan stone Tian-Huang (田黃). Such use of this material to imitate a more precious stone or simply another material was a common trend for the artisans then to compete in their skill and showed off the finished product as an art object.