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Lot Essay
Ma Shaoxuan (1867-1939) was one of the most technically accomplished artists of the Beijing School of snuff-bottle painting, which was founded by Zhou Leyuan and included other leading artists, such as Ding Erzhong and Ye Zhongsan.
Lou Shi Ming was written by the Tang dynasty scholar-official Liu Yuxi (772-842), and the excerpt seen on the present bottle may be translated as follows:
'A mountain does not need to be high. It becomes known when immortals are to be found. A river does not need to be deep. It becomes enchanted when dragons are to be found. Here is my humble cottage. Through my reputation [its name spreads like] fragrance. The steps are green with scattered moss.'
Although Ma is known for his bottles with landscape scenes, the particular view depicted on the present bottle is rare. Related examples decorated with a landscape on one side and the same poem on the other also exist. Compare, a crystal bottle painted by Ma Shaoxuan in the spring of 1896, with an idyllic river-side landscape and excerpts from the same poem, with an additional sentence, illustrated by R. Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles III, p. 41, no. 25. Compare also, a glass bottle inscribed by Ma Shaoxuan in 1898 on both sides with the same poem but in its entirety, illustrated by B. C. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, p. 236, no. 836, and by R. Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles XI, The Snowy Peaks Collection, no. 99.
Lou Shi Ming was written by the Tang dynasty scholar-official Liu Yuxi (772-842), and the excerpt seen on the present bottle may be translated as follows:
'A mountain does not need to be high. It becomes known when immortals are to be found. A river does not need to be deep. It becomes enchanted when dragons are to be found. Here is my humble cottage. Through my reputation [its name spreads like] fragrance. The steps are green with scattered moss.'
Although Ma is known for his bottles with landscape scenes, the particular view depicted on the present bottle is rare. Related examples decorated with a landscape on one side and the same poem on the other also exist. Compare, a crystal bottle painted by Ma Shaoxuan in the spring of 1896, with an idyllic river-side landscape and excerpts from the same poem, with an additional sentence, illustrated by R. Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles III, p. 41, no. 25. Compare also, a glass bottle inscribed by Ma Shaoxuan in 1898 on both sides with the same poem but in its entirety, illustrated by B. C. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, p. 236, no. 836, and by R. Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles XI, The Snowy Peaks Collection, no. 99.