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Lot Essay
The poem may be translated thus:
Fragrant smoke collects about a much-prized [censer in the shape of a] duck.
Jade-like candles sparkle in the silver candlesticks.
Sitting there for a long time [I watch] soft gutterings develop
Ushering in an air of joyfulness as spring arrives.
Brightly glittering colours diffuse everywhere.
Their lustre [even] outshines the blossoms.
Brocade and fine silk add to an auspicious atmosphere.
All help to brighten up the splendid hall.
This room is filled with light and harmony.
Pure are the wind, the moon and the nine heavens.
Joyfully [I] bring [you] these glad tidings,
For which reasons is this new poem composed.
The imagery on this bottle expresses the wish that the recipient have numerous male children, while the combination of boys playing with red lanterns and the line "spring arrives" in the poem may suggest the scene seen here is of the Lantern Festival held on the 15th day of the new year. The two seals following the poem may suggest the Qianlong Emperor as the author. He was a prolific poet whose recorded verses number forty-two thousand. They appear quite frequently on late 18th- and 19th-century snuff bottles, particularly in porcelain. The Jiaqing Emperor also drew upon his father's massive output; many examples are known which bear Jiaqing reign marks on the base but have Qianlong's seals following the poem.
This is an unusual subject for late Qianlong porcelain snuff bottles from the Jingdezhen Imperial kilns, where floral designs predominated. It is, however, part of a series of designs which appear on other ceramic forms of the late Qianlong and Jiaqing periods, with large numbers of children playing various games in a garden. There is another example of this subject on a snuff bottle, probably from the Jiaqing reign, illustrated by Bob C. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, no. 296.
Fragrant smoke collects about a much-prized [censer in the shape of a] duck.
Jade-like candles sparkle in the silver candlesticks.
Sitting there for a long time [I watch] soft gutterings develop
Ushering in an air of joyfulness as spring arrives.
Brightly glittering colours diffuse everywhere.
Their lustre [even] outshines the blossoms.
Brocade and fine silk add to an auspicious atmosphere.
All help to brighten up the splendid hall.
This room is filled with light and harmony.
Pure are the wind, the moon and the nine heavens.
Joyfully [I] bring [you] these glad tidings,
For which reasons is this new poem composed.
The imagery on this bottle expresses the wish that the recipient have numerous male children, while the combination of boys playing with red lanterns and the line "spring arrives" in the poem may suggest the scene seen here is of the Lantern Festival held on the 15th day of the new year. The two seals following the poem may suggest the Qianlong Emperor as the author. He was a prolific poet whose recorded verses number forty-two thousand. They appear quite frequently on late 18th- and 19th-century snuff bottles, particularly in porcelain. The Jiaqing Emperor also drew upon his father's massive output; many examples are known which bear Jiaqing reign marks on the base but have Qianlong's seals following the poem.
This is an unusual subject for late Qianlong porcelain snuff bottles from the Jingdezhen Imperial kilns, where floral designs predominated. It is, however, part of a series of designs which appear on other ceramic forms of the late Qianlong and Jiaqing periods, with large numbers of children playing various games in a garden. There is another example of this subject on a snuff bottle, probably from the Jiaqing reign, illustrated by Bob C. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, no. 296.