IMPERIAL, GUANGZHOU, QIANLONG FOUR-CHARACTER MARK IN BLUE ENAMEL AND OF THE PERIOD, 1750-1795

Details

**AN UNUSUAL GUANGZHOU ENAMEL "EUROPEAN SUBJECT" SNUFF BOTTLE
IMPERIAL, GUANGZHOU, QIANLONG FOUR-CHARACTER MARK IN BLUE ENAMEL AND OF THE PERIOD, 1750-1795
Of flattened tapering form with flat lip and foot surrounded by a footrim, the body painted in famille rose enamels with a continuous scene of a European lady in a blue, flowing skirt and pink jacket, a walking stick in her right hand, with a young boy and brown dog beside her, walking along a tree-lined path beside a river with building and mountains in the distance, the other main side with a European man and young boy beside a water buffalo, all between borders of iron-red bats, the neck with bands of scrolling foliage, the foot inscribed with a four-character mark in blue enamel regular script, Qianlong nian zhi (Made in the Qianlong period), the exposed metal gilt, gilt-metal stopper with integral collar
2 25/32 in. (7.1 cm) high

Provenance

Hugh Moss Ltd.

Literature

JICSBS, March 1975, p. 7, fig. 2.

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

This bottle is one of a group of Imperial wares produced at Guangzhou during the Qianlong period. Guangzhou enamels regularly employ techniques of the Palace workshops, particularly the use of stippled areas where a series of minute dots provides graduation in the colors, as here. These stylistic similarities arose for two main reasons: Guangzhou enamelers were occasionally seconded to the Palace workshops for a number of years, and Jesuit enamelers often spent lengthy periods in Guangzhou awaiting permission to proceed north after their arrival, spending time demonstrating their skills to local craftsmen and imparting some elements of their style to Guangzhou workshops.

For other enameled copper snuff bottles with European subjects, see D. Low, More Treasures from The Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, p. 8, no. 5; and Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles III, p. 135, no. 80; and another illustrated by R. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, p. 12, no. 11.

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