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Lot Essay
This bottle depicts the mallow which is associated with the successful scholar. Its Chinese name gui is also a homophone on the word gui for "honor". As such, the mallow flower is often depicted on a variety of bottles made from different materials. This particular version of the design is known as fengjuangui, 'mallow curling in the wind', and is characterized by the wavy petals.
A number of bottles with this design are known, including several in different colors of glass in the Marian Mayer collection, illustrated by Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles II, London, 1989, nos. 86-90 and 93; one illustrated by Humphrey Hui et. al., Hidden Treasures of the Dragon, Hong Kong, 1991, p. 61, fig. 111; and another illustrated by Robert Kleiner, A Miniature Art from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Hong Kong, 1994, no. 95.
A number of bottles with this design are known, including several in different colors of glass in the Marian Mayer collection, illustrated by Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles II, London, 1989, nos. 86-90 and 93; one illustrated by Humphrey Hui et. al., Hidden Treasures of the Dragon, Hong Kong, 1991, p. 61, fig. 111; and another illustrated by Robert Kleiner, A Miniature Art from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Hong Kong, 1994, no. 95.