SIGNED YE ZHONGSAN, BEIJING, DATED TO THE FIRST MONTH OF THE SUMMER OF THE DINGYOU YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1897

Details

**AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
SIGNED YE ZHONGSAN, BEIJING, DATED TO THE FIRST MONTH OF THE SUMMER OF THE DINGYOU YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1897
Of flattened form with flat lip and recessed, convex foot surrounded by a footrim, painted with a continuous scene of four horses grazing beside a river under willow trees in spring, gently rolling hills in the distance, inscribed in running script, Made at the Capital, in the first month of the summer of the cyclical year dingyou [1897] by Ye Zhongshan, with artist's seal Huayin, coral stopper with metal collar
2 11/32 in. (6.0 cm.) high

Provenance

Potter's Gallery, Vancouver.

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

Ye Zhongsan began painting horses and donkeys in 1895. While he painted his chosen theme prolifically, he took pains to vary the compositions. For other examples of his early work, see H. Moss, Snuff Bottles of China, nos. 383 and 384; and Moss, Graham and Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, no. 521, for a bottle painted with the Eight Horses of Mu Wang.

This seal of the artist, Huayin, appears only on his works from the early years. After 1900 he no longer used it, reverting to the simple yin (seal) which continued in use by the family into the mid-twentieth century.

Horses came to symbolize men of talent because the character jun (steed) is a homonym for the word meaning "a talented man." The motif conveys the wish, "May you be one of the talented people."

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