AN ENGRAVED BRONZE 'DRAGON' SNUFF BOTTLE LATE QING DYNASTY / REPUBLICAN PERIOD

Snuff Bottle Review, February 1978, p. 11 and front cover.
Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 7, Hong Kong, 2009, no. 1619.

There is a small dint to the outer lip and scratches across the lip. Apart from some surface abrasions and minor surface scratches from use, the overall condtion is very good.
"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 unimaginative but technically skilled faker tends to copy existing wares and, as a result, often gives himself away sooner rather than later, because his works are identified as being precise copies. A more sophisticated approach is to copy the technique and style of an original, but invent new designs so that one’s products are not precise copies of existing pieces. This takes more artistry and greater imagination, and lays the artist open to more errors by which he might be exposed.

A third, far more sophisticated approach, is to invent the wares out of whole cloth, so to speak – and is precisely what the Shunzhi Bronze Forger did. Knowing that the snuff bottle began with the Qing dynasty, recognizing a growing demand from a partly naïve audience of collectors, and seeing nothing in his day that was believed to predate the Kangxi period, he invented the Shunzhi bottles to fill the gap. By inventing rather than copying (although he borrowed earlier forms and engraving styles), he fooled everyone, even long after his death. It was not until the second half of the twentieth century that the works signed ‘Cheng Rongzhang’ began to be doubted.