**TWO SMALL UNUSUAL UNDERGLAZE-RED-AND-BLUE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLES
**TWO SMALL UNUSUAL UNDERGLAZE-RED-AND-BLUE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLES

JINGDE ZHEN KILNS, 1810-1880

Details
**TWO SMALL UNUSUAL UNDERGLAZE-RED-AND-BLUE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLES
JINGDE ZHEN KILNS, 1810-1880
One of cylindrical form with canted shoulder and recessed foot surrounded by a circular footrim, decorated with a continuous landscape in which a man leads a camel towards the closed gate of a crenellated wall, the sign over the gate reading Erligou, the man's coat and the camel in underglaze red, amethyst stopper with glass finial; the other of cylindrical form with recessed foot and canted shoulder, decorated with a continuous landscape in which a woman holding a broom stands between two figures, one a man with long beard and hair standing on clouds, his right hand raised while holding a bamboo staff in the left, the stocky figure behind her wielding a bamboo staff above his head, tourmaline stopper with green agate finial
1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm.) and 1¾ in. (4.4 cm.) high (2)
Provenance
Both bottles: Potter's Gallery, Vancouver.

Lot Essay

The sign above the gate reads "Erligou", which is situated in Beijing. The bactrian camel was the beast of burden which was used by traders to ply the Silk Route. In the Tang dynasty camels were used to transport Chinese goods, including silk, across the difficult terrain of the Silk Route to the eager markets of Central Asia, Samarkand, Persia and Syria.

The two-humped Bactrian camel was known in China as early as the Han dynasty, having been brought from Central Asia and Eastern Turkestan as tribute. Its amazing ability to survive the hardships of travel across the Asian deserts was soon recognized and Imperial camel herds were established under the administration of a special bureau. These Imperial camel herds, numbering several thousand, were used for a range of state duties, including the provision of a military courier service for the Northern Frontier. Camels were not only prized as resilient beasts of burden; their hair was also used to produce a cloth, which, then as now, was admired for its lightness and warmth.

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