Lot 817
817
AN INSIDE-PAINTED ROCK CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE
AN INSIDE-PAINTED ROCK CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE
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AN INSIDE-PAINTED ROCK CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE

SIGNED MA SHOAXUAN, DATED MID-AUTUMN OF THE DINGYOU YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1897

Details
AN INSIDE-PAINTED ROCK CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE
SIGNED MA SHOAXUAN, DATED MID-AUTUMN OF THE DINGYOU YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1897
The bottle is inscribed with the Lanting Xu (Orchid Pavilion Preface) on one side, and the reverse is decorated with paintings and documents.
2 13⁄16 in. (7 cm.) high, jadeite stopper, cloth box
Provenance
Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Bob C. Stevens Collection.
The Bob C. Stevens Collection of Important Chinese Snuff Bottles, Part II; Sotheby's New York, 26 March 1982, lot 233.
Alice B. McReynolds Collection.
Sotheby's New York, 16 April 1985, lot 186.
Dr. Dean Edell Collection.
Louise Randall Collection.
Rachelle R. Holden Collection, New York.
Literature
B. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, New York, 1976, no. 837.
JICSBS, Autumn 1985, p. 136, fig. 4.
JICSBS, Autumn 1993, JWA ad, no. 2.
R. Holden, Rivers and Mountains Far From the World - The Rachelle R. Holden Collection, A Personal Commentary, New York, 1994, pp. 322-323, no. 143.
Exhibited
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Tokyo, Mikimoto Hall, An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles From The Bob C. Stevens Collection, 22-31 October 1978, cat. no. 292.

Brought to you by

Margaret Gristina (葛曼琪)
Margaret Gristina (葛曼琪) Senior Specialist, VP
+1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay


The inscription on the current bottle is an excerpt of The Lanting Preface, by Wang Xizhi (307-365). The Lanting (Orchid Pavilion) gathering took place in the ninth year of the Yonghe reign of the Eastern Jin dynasty (AD 353). Forty-two scholars were invited to the Orchid Pavilion near Shanyin, Zhejiang province, for the Spring Purification Festival, where a scholarly game took place. The participants were challenged to compose poems, having each been given an initial character. Those who produced two poems had to drink one cup of wine, while those who only composed one poem drank two cups, and those who failed to compose any poetry at all, were required to consume three cups.

For a further discussion of the artist, refer to lot 810. A similar bottle was sold in Snuff Bottles from the Tuyet Nguyet and Stephen Markbreiter Collection Part I, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4 June 2021, lot 1018.

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