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

Details

**A RARE COPPER-RED AND UNDERGLAZE-BLUE-DECORATED SNUFF POT
JINGDE ZHEN KILNS, DAOGUANG FOUR-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE SEAL SCRIPT AND OF THE PERIOD (1821-1850)
With wide mouth, convex lip and recessed flat foot surrounded by a footrim, the body finely painted in underglaze copper red with formalized lotus scrolls and with two fine bands in underglaze blue encircling the neck and base, the bottle covered overall by a transparent glaze, the foot inscribed with a four-character seal mark in underglaze blue, Daoguang nian zhi (Made in the Daoguang period), the original matching stopper painted with a lotus medallion
2 19/32 in. (6.6 cm.) high (including stopper)

Provenance

Elisabeth and Ladislas Kardos.

Exhibited

Canadian Craft Museum, Vancouver, 1992.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

The unusually wide mouth on this vessel suggests that this would have been used for scented snuff, a trend that took hold at the beginning of the 19th century. See R.J. Lynn, "Technical Aspects and Connoisseurship of Snuff and Snuff Bottles: Late Traditional Chinese Sources," JICSBS, Summer 1995, p. 9, for a discussion of the practice of infusing the snuff with scent by removing the stopper in the evening and inserting petals overnight.

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