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Lot Essay
The intricate design and craftsmanship of this snuff bottle reflect the high artistic standards and innovative techniques of the enamelers within the Imperial Palace Workshops during the Qianlong period (1736-1795). The bottle is delicately painted on either side with a European lady within a raised panel, with a smaller panel on each narrow side containing ruby-tone European-style scenes of a country dwelling in a landscape rendered in ruby tones. The panels are set on an elaborate yellow ground of formalized floral motifs and are enclosed at top and bottom by formal lappet bands.
The European-style ladies and landscapes reflect the influence of the Jesuits at the imperial court. These Jesuits first introduced the technique of painting in enamels on metal to China in the late Kangxi period (1662-1722), and their influence in subject matter and style continued through the Qianlong reign. The two depictions of European ladies on the present bottle were likely done by a Court artist who had practiced the European style with standards set by the Jesuits.
The finely painted ruby-tone vignettes on this bottle are particularly noteworthy. H. Moss et al. in The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, vol. I, New York, 1993, p. 280, note that European enamel panels were imported to China and converted into boxes and covers during the Qianlong period, probably in the Palace workshops. One of these boxes has European ruby enameled panels on a white ground, which may have served as the inspiration for this type of ruby-tone landscape that became so popular on metal, glass and porcelain. Additionally, according to the archival records of the Imperial Household department, in the third year of Qianlong (1738), the emperor gave praise to ‘snuff bottles enameled with red landscapes’ and ordered more similar bottles to be made. Qianlong not only demanded technical perfection but was willing to expend considerable sums in order to obtain innovative and artistically superior pieces. To produce such ruby-tone enamels of such high quality and consistent color, even for a small landscape, would have been very costly and would have presented a challenge to even the most skilled of enamelers. For two enamel-on-copper snuff bottles with ruby enamel landscape panels on each main side, see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 47 - Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2003, p. 122, no. 175; and D. Low, More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, pp. 4-5, no. 2. See also, a snuff bottle painted with a continuous scene from the J & J Collection, sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 25 April 2004, lot 837. A mirror image of the J & J bottle is also illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 47 - Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2003, no. 174.
Also noteworthy on the present bottle are the raised metal lines that define the panels. This is a rare feature for a painted enamel snuff bottle, and would have likely been the work of the same artisans who created the metal bodies for cloisonné enamel snuff bottles. The raised lines on the present bottle serve to frame the panels and differentiate the decorative areas, whereas the raised wires on cloisonné wares create the network for the overall design. For another rare painted enamel bottle of flattened circular form with a raised metal line enclosing a lacquer panel, Kangxi mark and period, see Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Musuem, Taipei, 1991, p. 80, no. 3.
A similar Beijing enamel snuff bottle of rounded rectangular form, decorated with main panels of European ladies enclosed by a raised metal line, and with smaller side panels of ruby-tone landscapes, Qianlong mark and period, was sold in The Meriem Collection of Important Chinese Snuff Bottles, Part II; Christie's New York, 19 March 2008, lot 295 (Fig. 1) and is now in The Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection of Snuff Bottles, e-yaji.com, Part 1, p. 3, no. 21.3.752.
The European-style ladies and landscapes reflect the influence of the Jesuits at the imperial court. These Jesuits first introduced the technique of painting in enamels on metal to China in the late Kangxi period (1662-1722), and their influence in subject matter and style continued through the Qianlong reign. The two depictions of European ladies on the present bottle were likely done by a Court artist who had practiced the European style with standards set by the Jesuits.
The finely painted ruby-tone vignettes on this bottle are particularly noteworthy. H. Moss et al. in The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, vol. I, New York, 1993, p. 280, note that European enamel panels were imported to China and converted into boxes and covers during the Qianlong period, probably in the Palace workshops. One of these boxes has European ruby enameled panels on a white ground, which may have served as the inspiration for this type of ruby-tone landscape that became so popular on metal, glass and porcelain. Additionally, according to the archival records of the Imperial Household department, in the third year of Qianlong (1738), the emperor gave praise to ‘snuff bottles enameled with red landscapes’ and ordered more similar bottles to be made. Qianlong not only demanded technical perfection but was willing to expend considerable sums in order to obtain innovative and artistically superior pieces. To produce such ruby-tone enamels of such high quality and consistent color, even for a small landscape, would have been very costly and would have presented a challenge to even the most skilled of enamelers. For two enamel-on-copper snuff bottles with ruby enamel landscape panels on each main side, see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 47 - Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2003, p. 122, no. 175; and D. Low, More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, pp. 4-5, no. 2. See also, a snuff bottle painted with a continuous scene from the J & J Collection, sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 25 April 2004, lot 837. A mirror image of the J & J bottle is also illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 47 - Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2003, no. 174.
Also noteworthy on the present bottle are the raised metal lines that define the panels. This is a rare feature for a painted enamel snuff bottle, and would have likely been the work of the same artisans who created the metal bodies for cloisonné enamel snuff bottles. The raised lines on the present bottle serve to frame the panels and differentiate the decorative areas, whereas the raised wires on cloisonné wares create the network for the overall design. For another rare painted enamel bottle of flattened circular form with a raised metal line enclosing a lacquer panel, Kangxi mark and period, see Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Musuem, Taipei, 1991, p. 80, no. 3.
A similar Beijing enamel snuff bottle of rounded rectangular form, decorated with main panels of European ladies enclosed by a raised metal line, and with smaller side panels of ruby-tone landscapes, Qianlong mark and period, was sold in The Meriem Collection of Important Chinese Snuff Bottles, Part II; Christie's New York, 19 March 2008, lot 295 (Fig. 1) and is now in The Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection of Snuff Bottles, e-yaji.com, Part 1, p. 3, no. 21.3.752.