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Lot Essay
While the theme of this bottle, the Four Noble Professions (scholar, farmer, fisherman and woodcutter) is a quite common subject, this would appear to be an otherwise unrecorded design. In theory, all four occupations were equally honorable, as all were needed for the culture to survive and prosper. The scholar class, for whom such a bottle would have been intended, theoretically admired the simple way of life represented by the farmer and wood-gatherer. It is interesting to note, however, the quite disparate depictions of the impoverished wood-gatherer and fisherman and the lofty scholar sitting by a warm brazier and enjoying fine food.
The use of iron-red enamel with minimal black detail for the heads of the figures is unusual yet effective. The specific choice of palette is perhaps a reference to traditional monochromatic ink paintings.
This same palette can be found on a Daoguang-marked bottle illustrated by R. L. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of John Ault, no. 171; while the theme of the Four Noble Professions can be found on the Suzhou black and white jade bottle in this sale, lot 24.
The use of iron-red enamel with minimal black detail for the heads of the figures is unusual yet effective. The specific choice of palette is perhaps a reference to traditional monochromatic ink paintings.
This same palette can be found on a Daoguang-marked bottle illustrated by R. L. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of John Ault, no. 171; while the theme of the Four Noble Professions can be found on the Suzhou black and white jade bottle in this sale, lot 24.