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Lot Essay
For discussions on Zhong Kui, the Demon Queller, see Moss, Graham, Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, nos. 217 and 434. The immortal is typically shown either accompanied by a group of dutiful, subdued demons or dancing with bats. Here, however, Zhong Kui is shown with a young male servant (shutong), while the bats are disposed on the opposite side to form a unified, continuous subject. The five bats symbolize the five blessings of a perfectly fulfilled life (longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, and a natural death). They rise from a magical vapor emanating from a little pot, a symbol of an alternative mystical realm.
The artist of this delightful bottle has managed to capture vivid movement and whimsy. With one leg raised and an arm flung out, Zhong Kui is depicted in uninhibited dance while his charmingly rendered young attendant carries his master's parasol. The added diagonal of the rock on which the two figures are disposed and the swirl of mist rising from it to form the clouds behind the dancing figure of Zhong Kui are clever additions which add dynamism to the whole scene.
The artist of this delightful bottle has managed to capture vivid movement and whimsy. With one leg raised and an arm flung out, Zhong Kui is depicted in uninhibited dance while his charmingly rendered young attendant carries his master's parasol. The added diagonal of the rock on which the two figures are disposed and the swirl of mist rising from it to form the clouds behind the dancing figure of Zhong Kui are clever additions which add dynamism to the whole scene.