A HEXAGONAL BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN 'LANDSCAPE' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY

Collection of Arthur Gadsby.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2nd May 1991, lot 141.

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. 173.
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. 1376.

Bruise at the lip in the original biscuit porcelain glazed over - part of original process. Small, inobtrusive chip and minor bruise in footrim. Usual scratches and wear on surface, but not at all obtrusive. General relative condition: excellent.
"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 often the case that the rarer a bottle, the more difficult it is to accurately date. This unique combination of a rare form and composition is a case in point. Kleiner likened it to the wares made for Suyun daoren 素雲道人 (the eunuch Liu Chengyin 劉誠印, d. 1894; see Sale 8, lots 1025 and 1093) and dated it to the late nineteenth century, but very rarely are his bottles painted in a manner related to literati painting. One exception is in Geng 1992, no. 234, but the quality of the porcelain, the style of painting, and the quality of the blue appear to be significantly different. There seems no reason not to date this to the earlier part of the century. It may even have been made in the late Jiaqing period—the unglazed interior would suggest this possibility—but if not, it is unlikely to be later than the Daoguang era.

A feature of this bottle that is found on other bottles of the nineteenth century is that a fairly obvious wash of beige ceramic, or huashi 滑石, has been added to the foot rim only, to give the impression that the snuff bottle is made of beige porcelain. The body of the bottle is actually translucent like normal porcelain, and where a tiny chip has flaked away from the beige slip, the porcelain beneath is white. Nor is the glaze crackled as it would probably have been with beige porcelain. The potter may have added a tiny wash of the more expensive material to the foot rim to give the impression that the entire bottle was huashi.