AN ENAMELLED WHITE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE ATTRIBUTED TO WANG XISAN, 1960S |

Y.F. Yang, Hong Kong, 21st March 1972 (HK$6,000).

Good condition, with just typical original firing inconsistencies at the mouth.
"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 current bottle, exquisitely enamelled with a scene of butterflies hovering over flowers, a motif for courtship and love, is likely to be one of forty enamelled bottles created by Wang Xisan in 1964. The composition of the landscape and the precise articulation of the enamelling closely matches that on another enamelled bottle by Wang Xisan illustrated in Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, the Mary and George Bloch Collection, Volume 6, Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 273-275, where the authors note that, learning from his teacher Ye Bengqi, he used stocks of enamels held since the eighteenth century in the Forbidden City, Beijing. This accounts for the similarity to original Qianlong enamelled bottles. The reason that he used apocryphal Qianlong marks, as opposed to his own signatures on his inside-painted bottles is that this was a standard ‘trade’ mark requested by Chinese Arts and Crafts Corporation. The aforementioned bottle was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 28th May 2010, lot 52. See also another example from the collection of Ruth and Carl Barron, sold at Christie’s New York, 13th September 2017, lot 224.