A FAMILLE-ROSE PORCELAIN 'BUDDHIST LION AND CUB' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY

Robert Kleiner, 1991.

Robert Kleiner, Boda Yang, and Clarence F. Shangraw, Chinese Snuff Bottles: A Miniature Art from the Collection of George and Mary Bloch, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 154.
National Museum of Singapore, Singapore, 1994-1995.

Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 6, Hong Kong, 2007, no. 1407.

Gilding worn from the lip. Otherwise in good 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."

The shape, enamels, and decoration here all suggest that the bottle dates from the Daoguang period or shortly thereafter. Perhaps the faking of the Chenghua mark on snuff bottles began in the Daoguang period along with the use of similarly apocryphal Yongzheng and Qianlong marks, but it may have been more commonly used during the second half of the century.

Although the subject is the popular imperial one from the Daoguang era, this could be a later commercial response to the imperial design.

This is a true miniature, both in the sense of being a smaller version of the standard size for this form, which is a typical nineteenth-century one, and in the sense of being small in its own right, regardless of what form it is.