A FAMILLE-ROSE AND BLACK-ENAMELLED 'LANDSCAPE PANELS' PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, JIAQING / DAOGUANG PERIOD

Trojan Collection.
Robert Hall, London, 1993.

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 212.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997.

Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles V: From the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Trojan, London, 1992, cat. no. 60.
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. 1334.

The overall condition is 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."

This is of identical shape to Sale 5, lot 155. The shape appears to be derived from that of a European watch. It is defined by a raised panel and a series of closely-set lines radiating a little outwards all around the panels, a form that seems to have become popular first during the Daoguang period and to have continued in use into the second half of the nineteenth century. However, here the radiating lines are almost obscured by the thickness of the black enamel that has filled them. Although the two are so close that they could have come from the same mould, the enamels seem to date from the late Daoguang or afterwards. That said, the black ground of the surround does appear to be a standard Daoguang feature (see Sale 7, lot 27).

The subject is the usual literati landscape with scholars in an idealized setting. One of the scholars rides a donkey to his country retreat, while two others are already enjoying theirs, a temple nearby in case they should feel the urge to enjoy the company of the monks or join in the religious activities.

That this is a somewhat corrupted version of this sort of design is suggested by the side with two scholars at their windows. What were originally intended as distant points of sand jutting out into the water have become almost unintelligible as such and look more like outcrops of horizontal shale rising immediately behind the houses. The logic of the original design may have become lost through repetition, or perhaps the painter was still struggling with a new style of perspective in which the picture plane was not tipped up toward the viewer anymore; note that the distant mountains are rising from the middle-ground treetops rather than having intervening water or plains.