A CARVED TWO-COLOR LACQUER SNUFF BOTTLE

JAPAN, 1860-1920

Details

A CARVED TWO-COLOR LACQUER SNUFF BOTTLE
JAPAN, 1860-1920
Of tapering, ovoid form, the bottle is finely carved on either side with an oval panel reserved on a diaper ground. One panel contains a scene of chrysanthemums emerging from rockwork beneath a butterfly in flight. The panel on the reverse is carved with a gathering of monks or luhans beneath pine trees. Bands of scrolling clouds and keyfret encircle the neck and foot.
2 5/16 in. (5.9 cm.) high, gilt stopper

Provenance

The Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey.
Sotheby's New York, 22 September 1995, lot 147.

Literature

Schuyler Cammann, Miniature Art from Old China. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Montclair Art Museum Collections, New Jersey, 1982, no. 417.

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Lot Essay

This bottle belongs to the group of superbly crafted Japanese bottles produced in lacquer in the 19th and early part of the 20th century, some also incorporating ivory, and some of which bear apocryphal Chinese reign marks. This is a particularly refined example, with an elegant shape and finely carved details.
For another example in red and black lacquer, with a Qianlong reign mark, and a discussion of the group, see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 7, Part 2, Organic, Metal, Mixed Media, Hong Kong, 2009, pp. 521-3, no. 1688. Another bottle from this group, from the Meriem Collection, was sold in these rooms, 19 September 2007, lot 662.

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