1.6 inch high snuff bottle sold at auction for £821,383

The beautiful enamel bottle, made for China's Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century, was part of a collection put together by George and Mary Bloch. It was hoped it might reach £250,000 but furious bidding saw the price rise beyond expectations. The bottle shows on one side a woman and a young boy with an elaborate building and trees in the background. One the other side is a woman with a basket of flowers and fruit and another young boy, with buildings and the tree-clad banks of a stream behind her. The price paid by an anonymous collector was 9,280,000 Hong Kong dollars — £821,383. The sale was Bonhams' first ever "Golden Gavel Auction", with every item sold. The Bloch's entire collection is being auctioned over several sales and the first, of 140 bottles, made £5.8million — smashing the pre-sale estimate of £1.8million. The bottles, which range between one and four inches high and date mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, come with small spoons. Snuff became popular in China during the early 17th century and because of the warm climate it was kept in air tight bottles — unlike in Britain where boxes were suitable. It was during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) when the snuff bottle production boomed. Mr Bloch was a German Jew, born in Vienna, and educated in England whose family fled Austria for China in 1938, in fear of persecution from the Nazis, and he settled in Shanghai. His wife Mary is now living in Hong Kong and the collection is being sold by his family. source: The Sun