AN INSIDE-PAINTED CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE MA SHAOXUAN, 1899-1909

with a flat lip and a recessed flat foot surrounded by a protruding flattened footrim, painted on one main side with a portrait of an unidentified Manchu official, the other main side inscribed in regular script with an rhymed encomium describing the sitter, preceded by ‘For the approval of Xiechen, an honourable elder acquaintance,’ and followed by the signature ‘[Inscribed by] Ma Guangjia, [alias] the humble Shaoxuan,’ with one seal of the artist, Shaoxuan, in negative seal script; the tourmaline stopper with a vinyl collar; the bottle mid-18th - early 20th century

Collection of Edmund F. Dwyer.
Collection of Hugh Moss, 1985.

Snuff Bottles of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1978, cat. no. 235.
Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch at the Galleries of Sydney L. Moss, Ltd., Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1987, cat. no. 294.
Creditanstalt, Vienna, 1993.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, The British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 418.
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997.
Christie's London, 1999.

Emily Byrne Curtis, Reflected Glory in a Bottle: Chinese Snuff Bottle Portraits, New York, 1980, p. 95, fig. 132.
Hugh Moss, 'Questions and Answers', Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, June 1981, p. 37, fig. 14.
Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 4, Hong Kong, 2000, no. 609.

The snuff bottle is in overall very good condition. The actual colour is consistent with the catalogue illustration, if not slightly warmer.
"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 has been suggested that the present bottle is painted with a portrait of the military commander of Changsham, Liu Gaozhao, see Emily Byrne Curtis, Reflected Glory in a Bottle: Chinese Snuff Bottle Portraits, New York, 1980, p. 95. The association is based on a photograph taken by the American engineer William B. Parsons in 1898 or 1999 when he was in Hunan surveying the line for a railway that would run from Guangzhou through Changsha to Hankou.

Xiechen was used as a courtesy name by several people, and could refer to Sun Jia'nai (1827-1909), who was the subject of another inside-painted bottle by Ma Shaoxuan, see Byrne Curtis, ibid., pp. 22-23; or Wu Shumei, a vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who was sent to Hunan in 1898.

The inscription is in four-syllable lines, with rhyme at the end of the even-numbered lines:

Endowed with the talent to manage the affairs of the world,
He has the style of 'light furs and broad belts'.
He is magnanimous of will,
And calm of spirit.
He makes friends in accord with the Way;
He is prudent and dignified,
Venerable of appearance, venerable of mind,
A brilliant man, this gentleman.
Light firs and broad belts were the mark of the high official or Very Important Person.