.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Embellished wares are so firmly associated with early-twentieth-century Japanese output of snuff bottles that the extraordinary quality and rarity of the few early Chinese examples have tended to become eclipsed by, and even mistaken for, later Japanese works.
This bottle must certainly rank among the most spectacular of all early embellished bottles, with its lovely combination of soft materials, so well suited to each other, and their tasteful use. Such embellished works are typical of a multi-skilled workshop scenario, such as that of the Imperial workshops, which in this case is a likely source. Such embellished wares, however, were also produced in Yangzhou from the sixteenth century onwards and certainly continued into the mid-nineteenth century in the capable hands of the famous lacquerer, Lu Dong (Kuisheng).
This bottle must certainly rank among the most spectacular of all early embellished bottles, with its lovely combination of soft materials, so well suited to each other, and their tasteful use. Such embellished works are typical of a multi-skilled workshop scenario, such as that of the Imperial workshops, which in this case is a likely source. Such embellished wares, however, were also produced in Yangzhou from the sixteenth century onwards and certainly continued into the mid-nineteenth century in the capable hands of the famous lacquerer, Lu Dong (Kuisheng).