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Lot Essay
The bottle is of flattened double-gourd form and decorated with an overall design of gourds growing on a vine, with some gourds and leaves rendered in relief, all set against a pale beige ground finely painted in gold enamel with a dense network of curling tendrils.
The present snuff bottle belongs to a small group of almost identical bottles which are from the early Qianlong reign and were probably made at Jingdezhen under the directorship of Tang Ying (1682-1756). The overall group is distinguished by thinly potted forms, relatively wide mouths and exquisite artistry combined with impeccable technical skills in firing the enamels. Prior to his appointment to the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in 1728, Tang Ying had worked at the Palace workshops in Beijing. An accomplished artist, he was frequently called upon to design works of art made in the Palace and at Jingdezhen for the Court. At Jingdezhen, he thoroughly learned the ceramic arts and is known to have produced his own ware. There is also evidence that he may have actually painted snuff bottles himself on occasions.
A virtually identical double-gourd-shaped bottle in the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2003, p. 201, no. 311 (fig. 1), where a famille rose porcelain bottle is also illustrated with a similar four-character seal mark within a square written in black enamel, p. 194, no. 304. Other similar examples include one in the Percival David Foundation, illustrated by Lady David in Ch'ing Enamelled Wares in the Percival David Foundation, London, 1958, no. 836, and one in the collection of Denis Low, illustrated by D. S. K. Low, More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 174, no. 160.
Compare an almost identical double-gourd snuff bottle set against a darker beige ground, formerly in the J & J Collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 7 October 2014, lot 32 (fig. 2). Another related example, also formerly in the J & J Collection and subsequently in the collections of Eric Young and Mary and George Bloch, illustrated by R. L. Kleiner in Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 163, no. 220.
The present snuff bottle belongs to a small group of almost identical bottles which are from the early Qianlong reign and were probably made at Jingdezhen under the directorship of Tang Ying (1682-1756). The overall group is distinguished by thinly potted forms, relatively wide mouths and exquisite artistry combined with impeccable technical skills in firing the enamels. Prior to his appointment to the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in 1728, Tang Ying had worked at the Palace workshops in Beijing. An accomplished artist, he was frequently called upon to design works of art made in the Palace and at Jingdezhen for the Court. At Jingdezhen, he thoroughly learned the ceramic arts and is known to have produced his own ware. There is also evidence that he may have actually painted snuff bottles himself on occasions.
A virtually identical double-gourd-shaped bottle in the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2003, p. 201, no. 311 (fig. 1), where a famille rose porcelain bottle is also illustrated with a similar four-character seal mark within a square written in black enamel, p. 194, no. 304. Other similar examples include one in the Percival David Foundation, illustrated by Lady David in Ch'ing Enamelled Wares in the Percival David Foundation, London, 1958, no. 836, and one in the collection of Denis Low, illustrated by D. S. K. Low, More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 174, no. 160.
Compare an almost identical double-gourd snuff bottle set against a darker beige ground, formerly in the J & J Collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 7 October 2014, lot 32 (fig. 2). Another related example, also formerly in the J & J Collection and subsequently in the collections of Eric Young and Mary and George Bloch, illustrated by R. L. Kleiner in Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 163, no. 220.