YANGZHOU, 1780-1881

Details

A RARE CINNABAR-RED-OVERLAY BLACK GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
YANGZHOU, 1780-1881
The bottle is carved with a continuous scene of fishermen in various poses. On one side two figures holding staffs engage in a conversation while a third holding a basket looks on, with the sun and swirling clouds above. The reverse shows a central figure carrying a fishing pole next to a further basket, with another figure carrying a sack slung over his shoulder, all below two bats amidst the clouds.
2 1⁄4 in. (5.6 cm.) high, carved red lacquer stopper

Provenance

Robert Hall, London, 1995.
Rachelle R. Holden Collection, New York.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The current bottle is a rare example of a multicolored overlay on a black ground. More commonly found are bottles with a white or lighter colored ground which allow the colors of the overlay to be more easily seen. On the current bottle, the use of the opaque cinnabar-red overlay provides the background for the more subtle colors of the white and yellow overlay to be seen. An example of a multicolored overlay on black can be seen in the Hedda and Lutz Franz Collection, illustrated in Chinese Art from the Hedda and Lutz Franz Collection, Volume Two, Glass, Hong Kong, 2011, p. 117, no. 1324. For another example, with two color overlay, see Snuff Bottles from the Tuyet Nguyet and Stephen Markbreiter Collection Part I, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4 June 2021, lot 1037.

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