Isabella Stewart Gardner Collection

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Public collection

Photo: Liza Voll; Cover photo: Nic Lehoux

Acquired firsthand in Beijing and Shanghai in 1883, Isabella Stewart Gardner visited curio dealers for days at a time, selecting objects that offered a window on the life and culture of late imperial China. The bottles she brought home are now on permanent display in the Little Salon at Fenway Court, making the Gardner one of the few institutions where the collection can always be seen without appointment or special arrangement. The bottles represent a range of materials and quality, and include at least one example that retains its original stopper, a rare survival.

Location

25 Evans Way

Boston, MA 02115

USA

IMPORTANT dates

Acquired 1883

Website

gardnermuseum.org

Acquired firsthand in Beijing in 1883 and on permanent display in the Little Salon, the Gardner's bottles offer something increasingly rare among institutional collections: a direct and always-accessible encounter with objects chosen by one collector's eye.

Additional resources

‍• View the collection in detail

From the collection

Milk glass overlay with horses and genre scenes

China, early 19th century. Snuff bottle. Milk glass with polychrome overlay, depicting bathing horses on one side and a still-life composition with squirrels on the other; coral stopper. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e63.a-b.

Jade carved with crane and lotus

China, early 19th century. Snuff bottle. Jade carved with crane, lotus pods, and leaves. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e78.a-b.

Cameo glass with phoenix

China, early 19th century. Snuff bottle. Glass cameo with phoenix. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e66.a-b.

Smoky quartz with rutile inclusions

China, early 19th century. Snuff bottle. Smoky quartz with needle-shaped rutile crystal inclusions. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e60.a-b.

Porcelain with equestrian scene

China, 1796–1820, Qing dynasty, Jiaqing reign. Snuff bottle. Porcelain, moulded, carved, and enamelled with an equestrian pursuit scene on a riverbank; base inscribed in red with Jiaqing nianzhi reign mark. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e65.a-b.

Reticulated porcelain with dragon and phoenix

China, 1796–1820, Qing dynasty, Jiaqing reign. Snuff bottle. Reticulated porcelain with dragon on one side and phoenix among clouds on the other; glass and silver mounts. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e69.a-b.

Gilded silver with turquoise and coral

Tibet, early 19th century. Snuff bottle. Gilded silver set with turquoise and coral. Gift from Mrs. Hollis Hunnewell to Isabella Stewart Gardner after 1903. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e93.a-b.

Glass with incised poem in the style of Guyue Xuan

China (Beijing), early 19th century. Snuff bottle. Glass incised with a poetic inscription; in the style of Guyue Xuan, with possibly forged Guyue mark on base. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e70.a-b.

Black overlay glass on milk white ground

China, early 19th century. Snuff bottle. Milk glass with black overlay. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e67.a-b.

Rose quartz carved with phoenix

China, early 19th century. Snuff bottle. Rose quartz carved in low relief with a phoenix. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e61.a-b.

Enameled porcelain with crane and deer

China, 1736–1795, Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign. Snuff bottle. Porcelain enameled and painted with crane and deer; base inscribed in red with Qianlong nianzhi reign mark. Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Beijing, 1883. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Object number: U18e68.a-b.

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