An Ivory ’Figures and Boat’ Snuff Bottle Imperial Master, Japan, Late 19th / Early 20th Century

Lydia Tovey.
Sotheby’s London, 28th April 1987, lot 653.

Moss et al., 1996-2009, vol. 7, no. 1678.

Two chips on the foot rim. A tiny pice missing from the oar on one side and in the drape from the arm of the cloak of the lady just below. The usual age cracks in the ivory and some small areas of yellow discoloration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is a typically Japanese pastiche of a design taken from a Jiaqing moulded-porcelain snuff bottle, albeit a rather rare one. The mould survives in porcelain in Hughes 2002, no. 249, and in the Marquess of Exeter Collection (Chinese Snuff Bottles no. 6, p. 47, C.60). The original simply depicts two boats with women gathering lotus plants in a lake surrounded by rocky outcrops on one main side. The Imperial Master has developed his more complex scene from the porcelain original. Charming southern women gathering lotus are a time-honoured theme in Chinese poetry and art; perhaps it is this strong association between women in boats and the aquatic flower that accounts for the lotus on Sale 3, lot 24 (no lotus appear on the original of that scene). The Japanese carver has embraced the motif with gusto, which is typical of the rather loose but artistic response of the Imperial Master.

Another typical variation for the group is the broadening of the form to give a larger canvas for the expanded design. The carver appears to have borrowed various design elements from the porcelain originals and perhaps a few from other sources and then mixed them up, inventing his own combination. It is likely that the copies were quite accurate at first, but as the carvers continued and began to build up their repertoire of forms, and as they found out that the dealers through whom the bottles were retailed to the West were none too well informed as to iconographic accuracy, like any artist they began to enjoy themselves, becoming more inventive and creative, until, eventually, they began to produce entirely individual works with no recognizable reference to any Chinese original.