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Lot Essay
Painted enamels on gold are extremely rare. With a normal painted enamel vessel, the entire metal body is covered with enamel decoration, exposing only the foot and mouth rims which are gilded. This bottle is made entirely of gold with chased designs in the metal forming an integral part of the decoration. These wares mostly come from the Beijing Palace workshops.
Compare with a few similar gold snuff bottles: the first also with extensive chased-gold work and an identical millefleurs design is in the Bloch Collection, illustrated by Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, no. 3; the second with painted enamel panels in combination with cloisonne enamels on a solid-gold ground is illustrated by Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command. An Introduction to Ch'ing Painted Enamels, pl. 31; and two others, mis-catalogued as copper, are illustrated in Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, nos. 11 and 16. Two other bottles which may also be on gold with chased decoration surrounding similar panels are known, one illustrated by Wan Yi, Wang Shuqing and Lu Yanzhen, Qingdai Gongting Shenghuo. Life in the Forbidden City, p. 134; and the other in Zhongguo Biyanhu Zhenshang. Gems of Chinese Snuff Bottles, no. 379. The decoration on the present snuff bottle is also very similar to that on a cup and saucer set in the National Palace Museum, with chased floral motifs, identical painted millefleurs borders and very similar vignettes of European ladies with children, illustrated in Masterpieces of Chinese Enamel Ware in the National Palace Museum, no. 35.
The present snuff bottle is exquisitely made, with its relief chased motifs, striking millefleurs design and unusual brown enamel ground, complementing the two panels which are finely painted with the enamels delicately shaded. The idea of the panels set against a heavily decorated ground gives the impression of a window or shaped opening that frames a scene, a characteristic often seen in Chinese domestic and garden architecture. However, it is also possible that the original inspiration for this design on Beijing enamelware came from European watches collected at the Palace.
Compare with a few similar gold snuff bottles: the first also with extensive chased-gold work and an identical millefleurs design is in the Bloch Collection, illustrated by Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, no. 3; the second with painted enamel panels in combination with cloisonne enamels on a solid-gold ground is illustrated by Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command. An Introduction to Ch'ing Painted Enamels, pl. 31; and two others, mis-catalogued as copper, are illustrated in Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, nos. 11 and 16. Two other bottles which may also be on gold with chased decoration surrounding similar panels are known, one illustrated by Wan Yi, Wang Shuqing and Lu Yanzhen, Qingdai Gongting Shenghuo. Life in the Forbidden City, p. 134; and the other in Zhongguo Biyanhu Zhenshang. Gems of Chinese Snuff Bottles, no. 379. The decoration on the present snuff bottle is also very similar to that on a cup and saucer set in the National Palace Museum, with chased floral motifs, identical painted millefleurs borders and very similar vignettes of European ladies with children, illustrated in Masterpieces of Chinese Enamel Ware in the National Palace Museum, no. 35.
The present snuff bottle is exquisitely made, with its relief chased motifs, striking millefleurs design and unusual brown enamel ground, complementing the two panels which are finely painted with the enamels delicately shaded. The idea of the panels set against a heavily decorated ground gives the impression of a window or shaped opening that frames a scene, a characteristic often seen in Chinese domestic and garden architecture. However, it is also possible that the original inspiration for this design on Beijing enamelware came from European watches collected at the Palace.