**A BLUE-AND-WHITE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE

IMPERIAL, JINGDE ZHEN KILNS, DAOGUANG FOUR-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1821-1850)

Details

**A BLUE-AND-WHITE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE
IMPERIAL, JINGDE ZHEN KILNS, DAOGUANG FOUR-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1821-1850)
Of tapering cylindrical form with recessed foot surrounded by a circular footrim, decorated in underglaze blue with a continuous pattern of lotus scroll, the blossoms enclosed by the leafy curving stems arranged in three registers around the body and a fourth on the canted shoulder below a ruyi band encircling the neck, the foot inscribed in regular script Daoguang nian zhi (Made in the Daoguang period), coral stopper with gilt-metal collar
2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm.) high

Provenance

Hugh Moss Ltd.

Exhibited

Canadian Craft Museum, Vancouver, 1992.

Lot Essay

The lotus scroll has been a popular motif in Chinese art through the centuries. Since the perfect flower emerges from mud and murky waters, the lotus was adopted as a symbol of integrity and came to be associated with the upright gentleman. The lotus is also a Buddhist symbol of purity, and its formalized overlapping petals can be seen adorning the bases of Buddhist sculptures from the sixth century onwards.

The densely-packed, formalized design of the lotus scroll on this bottle is also found on an underglaze-blue-decorated snuff bottle in the Palace Museum, illustrated in Snuff Bottles. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, p. 219, no. 332. It is unusual to find a bottle of this form and design with a Daoguang reign mark.

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