AN IVORY 'LOTUS LEAF AND BEETLE' SNUFF BOTTLE JAPAN, LATE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURY

skilfully carved to simulate a furled lotus leaf with undulating edges enveloping a bottle with a tapering body, the exterior naturalistically rendered with veining, further detailed with slender leaves and lotus buds as well as a beetle

Sotheby's New York, 14th/15th March 1979, lot 129.
Collection of Paula J. Hallett.
Sotheby's New York, 2nd December 1985, lot 66.
Mary and George Bloch collection.

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. 1691.

The ivory, slightly discoloured, has some expected age crackles. However, the bottle is otherwise in excellent 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."

There is a small group of ivory bottles of this design concept, giving the impression of a bottle wrapped in a lotus leaf (see, for instance, Friedman 1990, no. 85; Sotheby’s, New York, 15 March 1984, lot 137; Sotheby’s, London, 21 June 1995, lot 164; and Sotheby’s, New York, 15 September 1998, lot 186). Now it is recognised that ivory bottles were copied from moulded porcelain originals and not the other way around, their source is obviously a group of white-glazed moulded porcelain bottles from the mid-Qing dynasty (see Sale 4, lot 150; Chinese Snuff Bottles 5(1969), p. 70, fig. 74; Friedman 1990, no. 131, and Hughes 2002, no. 291, for examples).

The ivory versions of this design have always been considered Chinese, but in light of the recent revised attribution of a range of ivory bottles to Japan, they are far more likely to be part of the same overall production. They follow Japanese production patterns: precise copies of Chinese moulded porcelain bottles, giving way at some stage to local variations; they are not extensively hollowed; and they are exquisitely well carved.

None of the ivory bottles of this design is at all convincingly worn, and the original makers do not seem to have made any attempt to impart artificial wear or patination. The known examples are mostly as crisp looking as the present example and of relatively unstained ivory.

This particular bottle is a very accurate copy of a bottle from the same mould as the Bloch porcelain example (Sale 4, lot 150), the main difference being that here the beetle has managed to crawl a little further across the surface of the leaf on one main side.