Lot Essay
The design of the tied brocade sash is associated with the Court and suggests precious objects, wrapped as if for presentation. It also symbolizes longevity through a pun on the Chinese characters for 'tied sash' and 'longevity'. Bats are also symbols of happiness and a large number of bats implies a wish for boundless happiness. The pair of peaches on the base reinforces the auspiciousness of the subject in wishing the owner long life in which to enjoy boundless happiness.
A bottle of this exact design but with a Yongzheng mark on the base is illustrated in Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, p. 87, no. 22; while another Guangzhou enamelled bottle with a Yongzheng mark inscribed within a pair of peaches is illustrated in Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty, p. 48, no. 6. A Yongzheng-marked, double-gourd enameled copper bottle decorated around the waist with a similar cloth with bats and swastika-diaper pattern is in the Denis Low Collection and is illustrated by R. Kleiner, Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Singapore, 1999, p. 8, no. 6. All three snuff bottles were made for the court, and with the symbolism of the bats, brocade sash and peaches on the present bottle, together with its similarity to an Imperial example, it is very possible that this was a birthday gift for the Yongzheng emperor.
A bottle of this exact design but with a Yongzheng mark on the base is illustrated in Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, p. 87, no. 22; while another Guangzhou enamelled bottle with a Yongzheng mark inscribed within a pair of peaches is illustrated in Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty, p. 48, no. 6. A Yongzheng-marked, double-gourd enameled copper bottle decorated around the waist with a similar cloth with bats and swastika-diaper pattern is in the Denis Low Collection and is illustrated by R. Kleiner, Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Singapore, 1999, p. 8, no. 6. All three snuff bottles were made for the court, and with the symbolism of the bats, brocade sash and peaches on the present bottle, together with its similarity to an Imperial example, it is very possible that this was a birthday gift for the Yongzheng emperor.