1907年 孟子受作玻璃內畫柳樹雙燕圖鼻煙壺 《丁未夏日孟子受》款

Robert Hall，倫敦，1987年

Robert Hall，《Chinese Snuff Bottles I》，London Convention，倫敦，1987年，編號78
Robert Kleiner、楊伯達及 Clarence F. Shangraw，《盈寸纖研 ─ 瑪麗及佐治伯樂鼻煙壺珍藏》，香港藝術館，香港，1994年，編號356
新加坡國家博物館，新加坡，1994-1995年
倫敦佳士得，1999年

Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷4，香港，2000年，編號632

Bottle: Minute nibbling to the inner lip and outer footrim (possible smoothing). Painting: good 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."

Meng Zishou produced a reasonable number of miniatures during his career, and this and Sale 5, lot 124 are among the finest of them. Meng followed other artists from time to time, being inspired in particular by Ma Shaoxuan, whose portraits of actors and other individuals he obviously borrowed, and his colourful figural style almost certainly owes a debt of some kind to Ye Zhongsan. He was, however, another of those artists who tended to bring his own compositions and style to borrowed works in a creative manner.

The subject of a tree wrapping around the bottle with various insects, fish, or birds is probably taken from Zhou Leyuan, whose influence over the Beijing school was so pervasive, but this version of it is entirely Meng’s own and, as far as it is indicated, was not taken up by anyone else. It is characterised by the tree taking over as the main element of the subject. Meng painted this subject a number of times, both in miniatures and normal size. It first appears in the previous year, 1906, in three recorded versions, all miniatures. One is illustrated in Stevens 1976 as no. 917, and the other two are a pair of bottles from the Dodge Collection. The three have only minor variations, and can be seen as repetitive compositions, placing Meng among those who repeated not only subject matter but compositions in pattern-book production. To balance this, however, it should be pointed out that he also invented a great many subjects and compositions for the art form.

Although of small size, the painting here is very well organised and executed. The composition is powerful and manages to avoid the confusion that might so easily have accompanied the side with nothing but falling willow branches and two fish. The birds are also delightfully convincing and in Meng’s distinctive style. A comparison between these two swallows, and those on Yan Yutian’s 閰玉田work (Sale 2, lot 117), for instance, shows that while the image may be the same, the style of painting is quite different and individual to each artist.