AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE LI SHOUCHANG, MID-SUMMER, 1892

with a concave lip and a recessed convex foot surrounded by a protruding rounded footrim, painted on one main side with a Manchu hunter galloping on horseback and turning to look up at four geese flying high above him, the other main side with the immortal Li Tieguai set on clouds, leaning on his iron crutch and watching as three bats fly forth in a cloud of vapour from the gourd tied at his belt, inscribed in regular script, ‘Executed by Li Shouchang in mid-summer of the year renchen', corresponding to 1892, with two seals of the artist, one illegible, preceding the inscription, the other, chang, following it in negative seal script; the tourmaline stopper with a vinyl collar

Beijing Arts and Crafts Corporation, 1974.
Robert Kleiner, London, 1999.

Robert Kleiner & Company Ltd., Robert Kleiner & Company, Hong Kong, 1999, cat. no. 93
Christie's, London, 1999.

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. 533.

There are some flaws in the glass at the centre of the foot, otherwise the snuff bottle and the painting are in overall quite good condition.
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Li Shouchang is a mysterious artist who was among the earlier group to follow Zhou Leyuan, although he shows no signs whatsoever of having been influenced by him. We may assume that he worked in Beijing, since several of his glass bottles seem to have come from the same source that supplied both Zhou Leyuan and Ye Zhongsan, including this example.

 

This is his masterpiece, which is charming and much more convincing as an image than most of his work, but even by the standards of the commercial, often decorative, art that was to follow, it is not a convincing painting by any artistic standard. It is, however, individual in style, which is intriguing. Li developed his own decorative folk-art style. Within his small surviving repertoire (of only seven bottles), it is also evident that, regardless of his standing as a painter, he was a commercial artist who repeated his subjects and compositions. From the summer of 1892 comes an identical image of the Manchu hunter, although much less convincingly painted. He also painted a horse standing in profile twice in the same year, once under a tree, once on its own, but clearly the same image.

 

However, for all his shortcomings as an artist, and as relatively good as this particular work is by comparison to the rest of his output, Li does have one shining claim to fame for which we may be extremely grateful. He seems to have been the first artist to have conceived of painting portraits. If Li Shouchang did nothing other than inspire Ma Shaoxuan and Ziyizi to paint portraits, he deserves our undying gratitude and a place on the honour role of the art form.

 

Li Shouchang always signed with his full name, as on this bottle, and used only a token seal.