AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE ATTRIBUTED TO MA SHAOXUAN

of flattened rectangular shape with shoulders sloping to a flared neck, resting on an oval foot, superbly painted on the inside with a full-length portrait of Tan Xinpei garbed in black robes with an orange sash around his waist, portraying the role of Qin Qiong in Maima ('Selling the Horse'), the reverse with a 32-character inscription

Robert Hall.

Patrick K. M. Kwok, 'The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles', Arts of Asia, November-December 1993, p. 97, no. 54.
Vanessa F. Holden, 'The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles', Oriental Art, 2002, Volume 48, No. 4, pp. 65-72, figs. 38 & 39.

The bottle is in overall good condition. The painting of the figure has very minor and expected faint scratches, but it doesn't deter from the aesthetic. The painting of the inscription is in good condition. The interior rim of the mouth with two tiny chips, as expected from use. The exterior rim with one tiny chip and one edge may have been polished down. The color of the orange sash is not as dark as the catalogue illustration suggests.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present bottle depicts the Beijing Opera star Tan Xinpei, who lived from 1847-1917. Ma Shaoxuan was an admirer of the opera and often painted bottles of Tan performing a role. For a discussion of the subject, see Ma Zhengshan, Ma Shaoxuan (1867-1939): Inside-Painted Snuff Bottle Artist, Hong Kong, 1997, p. 40.

The inscription on the present bottle can be translated as:
'[Drinking freshly] purchased wine from a jade jar,
[And] enjoying rain in a thatched cottage,
[Is this] seated gentleman.
[His cottage is] flanked by tall bamboo.
[When the sky] begins to clear up and white clouds [appear];
when the lonely birds chase each other,
Laying down the qin in the shade of the lush trees;
From high above a waterfall gushing down...'