CHINE, XVIIIEME SIECLE

Details

TABATIERE EN VERRE BLANC ET ROSE
CHINE, XVIIIEME SIECLE
En forme de baicai (sorte de chou), les feuilles délicatement sculptées et rehaussées de fines veines laissant apparaître diverses nuances de rose, le bouchon en verre
Hauteur avec le bouchon: 8,4 cm. (3 5/16 in.)

Provenance

Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 23 September 1976, lot 9.

Literature

Arts of Asia, January-February 1997
Journal, ICSBS, Winter 1995, cover.

Special notice

" f " : In addition to the regular Buyer’s premium, a commission of 7% (i.e. 7.49% inclusive of VAT for books, 8.372% inclusive of VAT for the other lots) of the hammer price will be charged to the buyer. It will be refunded to the Buyer upon proof of export of the lot outside the European Union within the legal time limit.(Please refer to section VAT refunds)

Further details

A PINK AND WHITE GLASS BAICAI-FORM SNUFF BOTTLE
CHINA, 18TH CENTURY

Lot Essay

In Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, p.135, T. T. Bartholomew remarks, that because of its green (qing) and white (bai) colors, "the Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa var. glabra) is a pun for qing and qingbai, both meaning 'without stain,' as in a clean personal record." Bartholomew also notes that the second character of "cabbage" (cai) is a pun for "wealth," and that the Chinese believe that eating this vegetable will help one gain prosperity.
Compare with a semi-transparent green glass baicai-form snuff bottle illustrated in Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles. The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 5, Glass, pp.376-377, pl.846.

More from Art d'Asie

View All