PROBABLY IMPERIAL, 1780-1880

Details

**A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER SNUFF BOTTLE
PROBABLY IMPERIAL, 1780-1880
Of compressed form with flat lip and recessed, convex oval foot surrounded by a footrim; carved in high relief with a flying fenghuang amidst clouds on each main side, the narrow sides carved with elongated rocky promontories, the neck with a band of pendant acanthus leaves, the upper neck and base with plain borders, gilt-metal stopper with integral collar decorated with a crouching Buddhist lion
2 in. (6.59 cm.) high

Provenance

Knapton & Rasti, London, 17 June 2002

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

This is one of a series of apparently mid-Qing lacquer bottles of a distinctive style, and may be the mid-Qing continuation of a well-known, eighteenth-century Imperial group. See other examples in Chinese Snuff Bottles. A Miniature Art from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, nos. 262 and 263. The subject of the fenghuang as the main decoration, making it emblematic as opposed to representing any particular myth in which the bird may figure, suggests that it was made for the Court, since this bird came, by the Qing dynasty, to represent the Empress.

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