SIGNED MA SHAOXUAN, DATED DINGYOU YEAR (1897)

Lou Shi Ming is a well-known poem by the Tang-dynasty poet Liu Yuxi (772-842) describing the joy of maintaining a cultured and refined spiritual life while living in a simple dwelling. For more discussion on the inside-painted snuff bottles by Ma Shaoxuan with the same subject and the translation of the excerpt seen on this present bottle (with an additional line, which can be translated as 'My companions are the most learned; there is not a single friend unversed in letters'), please see lot 323 in this catalogue.