A Cinnabar-Red and Black Lacquer Snuff Bottle Imperial Master, Japan, Late 19th / Early 20th Century

Claar Collection.
Parke-Bernet Galleries Inc., New York, 12th May 1970, lot 519.
Trojan Collection.
Robert Hall, London, 1993.

 

Stevens, 1976, no. 753.
Hall, R., 1992, no. 73.
Moss et al., 1996-2009, vol. 7, no. 1688.
Hall, R. and Ian Hardy, 2005, p. 115, no. 4.

A tiny insignificant nibble in the outer footrim. Otherwise, excellent workshop condition.
"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."

It is difficult to see what the inside of this bottle is made from, but it is so similar to Sale 3, lot 86, which is of brass and has the same sort of lip, that it is probably of the same combination. The chances are, in any case, that the construction methods would remain constant throughout the group for lacquer products. Sale 7, lot 159 has a metal interior because it is visible through the tiny crack that has appeared between the lacquer bottle and the ivory panel.

As always, the carving here is spectacular, but the iconographic details are somewhat unusual, particularly in the depiction of Budai. In China, by the late Ming dynasty, a standard image of Budai was established: he tended to be depicted seated, leaning on his sack, with children (if present) playing around or even on him. If he is without the children, he is typically standing with his sack over his shoulder. This relaxed image of him strolling through a lotus pond, his walking staff held low and horizontal, seems to be a Japanese invention, although quite charming. Budai is worshipped in China as an incarnation of Maitreya, the future Buddha. (In Japan, where he is equally popular, his name is read Hotei.) He is also—as appropriate for his appearance on a snuff bottle—considered the patron of tobacco merchants.

As pointed out under Sale 4, lot 10, the Imperial Master appears to have learned much of his style from copying moulded-porcelain bottles fairly precisely. The artist in him, however, soon encouraged his own variations on these designs and complete inventions of his own, incorporating more and more from Japanese artistic sources. Few of the lacquer bottles from the school owe much debt to the style of imperial moulded-porcelain bottles of the mid Qing. Another Japanese touch for this group of bottles is that houses and pavilions are frequently decorated with a distinctly Japanese-looking flaming pearl finial.

One final misunderstanding here is found in the use of the diaper ground for the waterside bank. The proper significance of the standard ground-diaper of highly formalized flowers has been lost as the pattern continues over the gangplank, which strictly speaking should have been depicted as planks or a solid board.

The consistently exquisite artistry of this group as a whole is obvious here in the lovely composition, the carving of the rocks, and particularly in the depiction of the magnificent ancient pines. The quality of the carving is augmented by the charming and unusual subject and by the rare use of a black lacquer relief plane on a red ground. Another by the Imperial Master with black on red is published in Lawrence 1996, no. 11 (also in JICSBS, Winter 1988, front cover). It is a colour combination derived from Chinese imperial originals (like this Ming tray from the National Palace Museum in Taiwan).