1800-1920

Details

TWO BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLES
1800-1920
The first, 1910-1920, is of flattened rounded form and painted with central medallions of a bird amongst peony blossoms. The narrow sides are decorated with a wan diaper in iron red and gilding. The second, 1800-1880, is of cylindrical form and is painted with a wide band of floral meander between decorative bands around the shoulder and foot.
2¾ and 2 7/8 in. (4.4 and 7.3 cm.) glass, jade stopper (2)

Provenance

Rounded bottle:
Edward C. O'Dell Collection.
John Ford, Baltimore, 1983.

Literature

Rounded bottle: Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Baltimore, March 1995, front cover.

Exhibited

Rounded bottle: Taipei Gallery, New York, Chinese Snuff Bottles, 1-29 October 1993, p. 13.

Special notice

Items which contain rubies or jadeite originating in Burma (Myanmar) may not be imported into the U.S. As a convenience to our bidders, we have marked these lots with Y. Please be advised that a purchaser¹s inability to import any such item into the U.S. or any other country shall not constitute grounds for non-payment or cancellation of the sale. With respect to items that contain any other types of gemstones originating in Burma (e.g., sapphires), such items may be imported into the U.S., provided that the gemstones have been mounted or incorporated into jewellery outside of Burma and provided that the setting is not of a temporary nature (e.g., a string).

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Lot Essay

The first bottle is one of a group of rounded and rectangular bottles, all made by the same porcelain workshop and decorated with similar color combinations. Some examples of both shapes bear Juren marks ('Dwelling in Benevolence'), indicating they were made for the well-known hall associated with the brief reign of Hongxian. For a square bottle with such a mark and a discussion of the group see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 6, Part 3, Arts of the Fire, Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 892-3, no. 1424. An example of similar shape to the present piece with Juren mark is illustrated by R. Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles III, London, 1990, p. 119, no. 70. Another similar rounded bottle with Hongxian two-character mark is illustrated in Moss, Graham, Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, Vol. I, New York, 1993, p. 385, no. 226.

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