PROBABLY IMPERIAL, GUANGZHOU, 1715-1740

In their discussion on the present bottle, H. Moss et al. in The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, vol. I, New York, 1993, p. 300-2, address the complexities of the enamel workshops in Guangzhou, and the various markets for which bottles were created. Unmarked painted enamel bottles such as the present example were made for the court, but it is not known if they were also made for local sale. The authors go on to suggest stylistic groupings and comparisons. They note that formal flower designs on a yellow ground were used at both the Beijing and Guangzhou workshops, however, Guangzhou examples like the present bottle tend to exhibit more ornate and frillier motifs. A similar bottle was included in the sale, The Hildegard Schonfeld Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles; Christie's New York, 21 March 2013, lot 1017, now in The Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection of Snuff Bottles, e-yaji.com, Part 1, p. 1, no. 21.3.1197.