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Lot Essay
Previously sold in Hong Kong, 5 November 1997, lot 2176.
Characteristic of a group of wares from the Qianlong period, the present lot displays European influences on various aspects of its production. The ruby painted vignettes on the main decorative panels may be attributed to the influences of European enamelled pieces which were imported to the Court, often as tribute to the Emperor who was intrigued by Occidental subjects. The style of painting on the bottle is also very closely related to the 18th century prints and engravings from Europe, especially in the effects of stippling to produce shading and differentiation of depth and ground in the landscapes. Prints of idealised pastoral landscapes populated with small figures began to be produced in France around 1750, while the use of puce as the monochrome colour against white in enamels on copper seems to have developed around that time as well, often depicting chinoiserie scenes within raised gilt rococo frames.
By the reign of the Emperor Qianlong, enamellers at the palace workshops had mastered the manufacture and painting of fine overglaze enamels. The finest quality puce-enamelled landscapes were found on ceramics, glass and copper wares with Qianlong marks, and appear to have been made at the imperial ateliers during his reign. Qianlong not only demanded technical perfection but was willing to expend considerable sums in order to obtain innovative and artistically superior pieces. To produce puce enamel of high quality and consistent colour, even for a small landscape, would have been very costly, and to paint a complex landscape, would have presented a challenge to the most skilled of enamellers. The present snuff bottle is all the more exquisite as most of the examples that have been published are painted with Chinese landscapes, rather than European ones.
Closely related snuff bottles include one illustrated by H. Moss, V. Graham and K. B. Tsang, The Art of the Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, vol. 1, New York, 1993, no. 178; one from the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Masterpieces of Snuff Bottles in the Palace Museum, no. 25; while bottles with puce landscapes within panels painted on white glass is illustrated by R. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, nos. 23 and 24.
A very few other puce enamel landscapes appear on imperial wares decorated with enamels on copper. One of the most striking examples is the large covered jar in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, 1999, pl. 115.
Porcelain wares with similar landscapes have also been published, among them, a vase with a continuous landscape is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Treasures of the Palace Museum - Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, no. 62; a double-gourd-shaped vase with landscapes reserved on panels is illustrated ibid., no. 61; a bowl with larger pink landscape panels, formerly in the collection of Paul and Helen Bernat, is illustrated by J. Ayers and M. Sato, Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, no. 111; and larger, more complete rose enamel landscapes appear on differently sized dishes in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taibei, one example of which is included in the Special Exhibition of Ch'ing Dynasty Enamelled Porcelains of the Imperial Ateliers, 1992, illustrated in the Catalogue, pls. 40-41.
Characteristic of a group of wares from the Qianlong period, the present lot displays European influences on various aspects of its production. The ruby painted vignettes on the main decorative panels may be attributed to the influences of European enamelled pieces which were imported to the Court, often as tribute to the Emperor who was intrigued by Occidental subjects. The style of painting on the bottle is also very closely related to the 18th century prints and engravings from Europe, especially in the effects of stippling to produce shading and differentiation of depth and ground in the landscapes. Prints of idealised pastoral landscapes populated with small figures began to be produced in France around 1750, while the use of puce as the monochrome colour against white in enamels on copper seems to have developed around that time as well, often depicting chinoiserie scenes within raised gilt rococo frames.
By the reign of the Emperor Qianlong, enamellers at the palace workshops had mastered the manufacture and painting of fine overglaze enamels. The finest quality puce-enamelled landscapes were found on ceramics, glass and copper wares with Qianlong marks, and appear to have been made at the imperial ateliers during his reign. Qianlong not only demanded technical perfection but was willing to expend considerable sums in order to obtain innovative and artistically superior pieces. To produce puce enamel of high quality and consistent colour, even for a small landscape, would have been very costly, and to paint a complex landscape, would have presented a challenge to the most skilled of enamellers. The present snuff bottle is all the more exquisite as most of the examples that have been published are painted with Chinese landscapes, rather than European ones.
Closely related snuff bottles include one illustrated by H. Moss, V. Graham and K. B. Tsang, The Art of the Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, vol. 1, New York, 1993, no. 178; one from the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Masterpieces of Snuff Bottles in the Palace Museum, no. 25; while bottles with puce landscapes within panels painted on white glass is illustrated by R. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, nos. 23 and 24.
A very few other puce enamel landscapes appear on imperial wares decorated with enamels on copper. One of the most striking examples is the large covered jar in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, 1999, pl. 115.
Porcelain wares with similar landscapes have also been published, among them, a vase with a continuous landscape is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Treasures of the Palace Museum - Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, no. 62; a double-gourd-shaped vase with landscapes reserved on panels is illustrated ibid., no. 61; a bowl with larger pink landscape panels, formerly in the collection of Paul and Helen Bernat, is illustrated by J. Ayers and M. Sato, Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, no. 111; and larger, more complete rose enamel landscapes appear on differently sized dishes in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taibei, one example of which is included in the Special Exhibition of Ch'ing Dynasty Enamelled Porcelains of the Imperial Ateliers, 1992, illustrated in the Catalogue, pls. 40-41.