HONG KONG.- Bonhams Hong Kong set a new outright world record for a Chinese snuff bottle today, 28 November 2011, at the auction of the celebrated Mary and George Bloch Collection: Part IV at the Island Shangri-La Hotel, Hong Kong. The tiny, yet exquisite, ‘famille-rose’ enamelled glass ‘European-subject’ snuff bottle made in the Imperial Palace workshops in Beijing during the Emperor Qianlong period (1736-1795) measures only 8.07cm high. It carried a pre-sale estimate of HK$4,900,000 – 9,000,000. International bidders in the packed auction room and on the telephone battled the bidding up to a final figure of HK$25.3 million (US$3,328,400; GBP2,108,333), over five times its pre-sale estimate and set a new world record for any Chinese snuff bottle, beating Bonhams own record, established only eighteen months ago*. This unique survivor of Imperial craftsmanship sold to an Asian collector who bid on the tele