AN INSIDE-PAINTED CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE

SIGNED ZHOU LEYUAN, BEIJING, DATED AUTUMN, NINTH MONTH OF THE WUZI YEAR (1888); THE BOTTLE, 1760-1888

Details

AN INSIDE-PAINTED CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE
SIGNED ZHOU LEYUAN, BEIJING, DATED AUTUMN, NINTH MONTH OF THE WUZI YEAR (1888); THE BOTTLE, 1760-1888
Of rounded-rectangular form with an oval lip and recessed foot, painted inside on one side with a scholar and his assistant carrying a qin, approaching a country dwelling in a river landscape, inscribed above 'For the appreciation of Shaogeng, the honorable Circuit Administrative Controller', preceded by a seal, Chi, the reverse painted with two long-tailed birds perched on a blossoming prunus tree growing beside a wutong tree, inscribed 'Autumn, ninth month of the wuzi year, Zhou Leyuan', with the seal Yin ('Seal'), jadeite stopper
2½ in. (6.4 cm.) high

Provenance

Ambassador T. T. Li, Shanghai, before 1945

Literature

Moss et. al., The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, vol. 2, no. 411
The Art of Chinese Snuff Bottle, Poly Art Museum, p. 131

Exhibited

Havana, Cuba, 1945
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, 1968
Christie's New York, 1993
Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1994
Museum fur Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, 1996-1997
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1997
Naples Museum of Art, Florida, 2002
Portland Museum of Art, Oregon, 2002
National Museum of History, Taipei, 2002
International Asian Art Fair, Seventh Regiment Armory, New York, 2003
Poly Art Museum, Beijing, 2003

Lot Essay

The founder of the popular Beijing school of painting, Zhou Leyuan's career spanned the period 1881 to 1893. Every single artist of the first phase of the school owed a considerable debt to Zhou, and most began their careers by copying his style and signing his name; some even devoted most of their careers to producing copies of his work.

The subject of the scholar strolling in a rural landscape was a very popular one repeated on all material. Similarly, paired birds on flowering branches also appeared in different combinations on bottles painted by Zhou between 1884 and 1892. This is one of the more exceptional versions of the theme where the subtle subdued colors of the birds are offset by the bright peach-colored breasts and red beaks.

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