LI JUNTING SCHOOL, ATTRIBUTED TO YANGZHOU, 1805-1840

Details

**A PINK OVERLAY WHITE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
LI JUNTING SCHOOL, ATTRIBUTED TO YANGZHOU, 1805-1840
Of flattened form with flat lip and recessed foot surrounded by a footrim, carved through the transparent reddish-pink overlay with a pair of goldfish swimming in a pond amidst bubbles on one main side, the other main side with a single larger goldfish swimming amidst further bubbles and a floating blossom and leaf, with the seal song, the narrow sides carved with mask-and-ring handles, stained quartz stopper with silver-gilt collar
2 39/64 in. (6.6 cm.) high

Provenance

A Scottish collection.
Hugh Moss Ltd.

Exhibited

Canadian Craft Museum, Vancouver, 1992.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

The core group of fine, low-relief carvings with figural or garden scenes in painterly style appears to be the output of a single glassworks in Yangzhou. For further examples and a study of works of the Yangzhou school, see Moss, Graham and Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 5, Glass, nos. 1008-48.

See also, B. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Chinese Snuff Bottles, no. 251, for a similar red overlay white glass snuff bottle with goldfish swimming amidst aquatic plants. The name, Song, appears elsewhere on the output of this school and is probably either the name of one of the artists involved, or a pseudonym adopted by the school for certain of its works. The distinctive style of the bottles bearing this seal, however, suggest the former.

The Chinese name for goldfish (jinyu) is a pun for "gold" (jin) and "jade" (yu). The word for goldfish in a pond (tang) is a homonym for "hall," meaning "family home," and part of the expression jinyu mantang (May your home be filled with gold and jade).

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