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Lot Essay
The story represented on this extraordinary bottle is the Sui dynasty tale of the San Xia, the heroes of which are Hong Fu, famous for her beauty, Li Jing, a scholar, and the hero Qiu Yanke known as "Curly Whiskers." The story takes place during the reign of the inept Emperor Yang Di. Distracted by his love for women and other indulgences, Yang Di passes control of the Court to his vicious right-hand man, Yang Su, who builds an underground fortress where he harbors numerous assassins. Disgusted by the country's deplorable state, Hong Fu, Li Jing and Qiu Yanke, join forces to fight against the mutinous Yang Su and his cronies.
A transcendent masterpiece of Qing hardstone carving, this exceptional bottle combines inspired use of the material and masterful control of the medium. Genius in interpreting different colored markings in stones relies upon the ability of the artist to give the impression that he has not been constrained in any way by the material. This level of genius is epitomized here.
Hugh Moss, in Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, illustrates an agate bottle, no. 154, carved with an extremely similar deer to that which appears on the present bottle. Particularly similar are the distinctive snouts and the same pose. The close similarities suggest the same hand, and link these two bottles in turn to the famous example decorated with similar deer illustrated by B. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, nos. 584 and 1005. All three bottles are further united by an extraordinary sculptural command of unusual material, and by the large, flattened form set on a crisp and substantial foot rim typical of some of the finest of the bottles characterized by Moss as "Group B."
Of further note is the masterful use of the series of small, concentric markings around the flying bat. These lines are interspersed with small circles in subtly different tones of color, which, together, give the appearance of vortices in the air created by the bat as it flies above the deer.
A transcendent masterpiece of Qing hardstone carving, this exceptional bottle combines inspired use of the material and masterful control of the medium. Genius in interpreting different colored markings in stones relies upon the ability of the artist to give the impression that he has not been constrained in any way by the material. This level of genius is epitomized here.
Hugh Moss, in Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, illustrates an agate bottle, no. 154, carved with an extremely similar deer to that which appears on the present bottle. Particularly similar are the distinctive snouts and the same pose. The close similarities suggest the same hand, and link these two bottles in turn to the famous example decorated with similar deer illustrated by B. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, nos. 584 and 1005. All three bottles are further united by an extraordinary sculptural command of unusual material, and by the large, flattened form set on a crisp and substantial foot rim typical of some of the finest of the bottles characterized by Moss as "Group B."
Of further note is the masterful use of the series of small, concentric markings around the flying bat. These lines are interspersed with small circles in subtly different tones of color, which, together, give the appearance of vortices in the air created by the bat as it flies above the deer.