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Lot Essay
During the Qianlong period, under the directorship of Tang Ying at Jingdezhen, a series of spectacular enameled porcelain snuff bottles was produced in very small quantities for the Court. This set the standard for Imperial production of porcelain snuff bottles into the Daoguang period, although stylistically the designs and forms changed considerably over the century of their production. This rare example demonstrates the strong influence of Tang Ying's style and quality of enameling.
This bottle was most probably produced in the late 1740's or early 1750's before Tang Ying retired and died in 1756. It is clearly inspired by imperial bottles enameled on metal, with raised surrounds of gilt scrollwork on green, dark blue, black and red enamel grounds. The central scenes on the metal bottles range from European figural subjects to Chinese-taste vignettes of birds on branches. Examples of these imperial enamel on metal bottles remain in the Imperial Collection and are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Snuff Bottles, Vol. 47, Hong Kong, 2003, p. 118, no. 171 (green ground), p. 98, no. 149 and p. 120, no. 173 (dark blue/black ground), and p. 97, no. 148 (red ground).
A rare example of its type, this bottle may have been originally created as pair. A nearly identical porcelain bottle is in the Imperial Collection and illustrated ibid., p. 210, no. 320, and appears to be the only other Qianlong-period example of this subject and ground tone published. Republican copies of this type of bottle are known to exist, however the later replicas do not exhibit the glazed interiors of the Qianlong originals, nor the 'well foot' identified by Hugh Moss in "The Influence of Tang Ying on Imperial Porcelain Snuff-bottle Production," Journal of the International Snuff Chinese Bottle Society, Baltimore, Spring 2009, pp. 4-16. The present bottle is identified as a geniune example of its type in a discussion of the group by Moss, Graham, Tsang, in A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 6, Part 2, Arts of the Fire, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 401.
The theme of boys at play, symbolizing the continuation of the family line, was a favorite subject on Qing-dynasty works of art. The combination of the objects held by the boys on this bottle allows for symbolic rebuses that emphasize the overriding theme of the wish for male progeny.
This bottle was most probably produced in the late 1740's or early 1750's before Tang Ying retired and died in 1756. It is clearly inspired by imperial bottles enameled on metal, with raised surrounds of gilt scrollwork on green, dark blue, black and red enamel grounds. The central scenes on the metal bottles range from European figural subjects to Chinese-taste vignettes of birds on branches. Examples of these imperial enamel on metal bottles remain in the Imperial Collection and are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Snuff Bottles, Vol. 47, Hong Kong, 2003, p. 118, no. 171 (green ground), p. 98, no. 149 and p. 120, no. 173 (dark blue/black ground), and p. 97, no. 148 (red ground).
A rare example of its type, this bottle may have been originally created as pair. A nearly identical porcelain bottle is in the Imperial Collection and illustrated ibid., p. 210, no. 320, and appears to be the only other Qianlong-period example of this subject and ground tone published. Republican copies of this type of bottle are known to exist, however the later replicas do not exhibit the glazed interiors of the Qianlong originals, nor the 'well foot' identified by Hugh Moss in "The Influence of Tang Ying on Imperial Porcelain Snuff-bottle Production," Journal of the International Snuff Chinese Bottle Society, Baltimore, Spring 2009, pp. 4-16. The present bottle is identified as a geniune example of its type in a discussion of the group by Moss, Graham, Tsang, in A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 6, Part 2, Arts of the Fire, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 401.
The theme of boys at play, symbolizing the continuation of the family line, was a favorite subject on Qing-dynasty works of art. The combination of the objects held by the boys on this bottle allows for symbolic rebuses that emphasize the overriding theme of the wish for male progeny.