AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS 'IN SEARCH OF PRUNUS BLOSSOMS' SNUFF BOTTLE DING ERZHONG, 1899

Kaynes-Klitz Collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 30th October 1990, lot 138. 

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 393.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997. 
Christie’s London, 1999.

Mary and George Bloch, ‘Favourite Snuff Bottles. The Mary and George Bloch Collection’, Arts of Asia, September-October 1990, p. 89.
Louis H. Exstein, ‘The International Snuff Bottle Convention in Hong Kong and the Kaynes-Litz Collection Part II’, Arts of Asia, March-April 1991, p. 165.
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. 554.

The bottle has a minute nick to the outer mouthrim as well as some minor surface scratches, but the overall condition is otherwise very good with the inside painting well preserved.
"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 one of Ding’s finest depictions of the ‘Searching for Prunus Blossoms in the Snow’ theme and demonstrates his capacity to capture the personality of his subjects convincingly. His drawing skills are extraordinary, enabling him to depict with just a few lines the essence of his subject with complete confidence and, usually, considerable whimsy. A pictorial device (of which Sale 5, lot 86 is an early example) is fully evolved by the winter of 1898 and appears here: the rocky far shore that comes jutting downwards from the upper frame of the painting.

This is the more powerful composition; Ding has reduced the basic elements of the subject to the essential, discarding distant mountain ranges, clumps of trees, and the receding water. The elements he has decided are essential for the meaning of the subject are the figure on his donkey, the blossoming prunus branches, the rocks and the river that runs past them, and a plank bridge. The bridge may not be essential to define the subject, but it is much simpler than the foreground pathway in Sale 5, lot 86.

The artist whom Ding cites as his inspiration for the auspicious-object painting is, as usual, Yun Shouping 惲壽平 (1633 – 1690), sobriquet Nantian laoren. As seen in the lot 118 of the present sale, it is suggested that Ding’s inspiration was as much Zhou Leyuan as Yun, but of all Ding’s masterpieces of this subject in this collection, the present example is the least like Zhou’s work.

Apart from the individual style, the addition of the basket and radishes, the composition, and the colouring all separate it from Zhou’s influence. Ding’s mastery can be seen here in the use of white. The balance of the white speckling of the prunus blossoms with the peonies and the jardinière in which the calamus grows is exquisite. Ding has used only four colours here: black ink, green, white, and orange, and although the white seems to define his use of these four, the others are all a vital part of the same balance. The placing and subtle colouring of the radishes is particularly telling in the overall composition.