清十八 / 十九世紀 黃玉髓袖珍荷包形鼻煙壺

倫敦佳士得1990年6月13日，編號513

Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷2，香港，1998年，編號240

Barely visible chip to the inner lip and outer footrim. Possible polishing to minor nibbles on the outer lip.
"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 origin of this form is not entirely clear, but in the minds of the officials for whom such a bottle may have been intended, it probably evoked the symbolism of the purse or pouch. See Sale 5, lot 73 for a discussion of the form.

The material of this intriguing miniature is chalcedony of the same type as found on Sale 7, lot 100, although in this particular specimen the surface resembles quartzite, presenting a rather more granular surface than would usually be expected of the yellow variety of chalcedony known as sard. To what extent the colouring would have identified it with the yellow reserved for imperial use is not entirely clear (as was the case with Sale 7, lot 100). Other miniature bottles in imperial yellow glass are known of this same form. If the yellow glass examples were imperial, as seems likely, then a yellow stone bottle of the same size and shape might also be, hence our extremely tentative designation of ‘possibly imperial’.

Although the formal integrity, detailing and finish here are all excellent, the hollowing is not extensive. Given the size of the bottle, there is ample room for snuff, but no attempt has been made to hollow it up into the shoulders, which are rather inaccessible in any case, although not impossibly so. The hollowing is the convenient, rather lazy fan-shaped hollowing that occurs on some Official School bottles attributable to the mid- or even late-nineteenth century; this may indicate that it was made during the period of decline, which most likely began at some time during the mid-Qing period. Such indications of a decline, however, are very imprecise aids to dating, since the first signs of it may have occurred in some workshops decades before it did in others, and it is certain that the high and lowered standards co-existed through to the end of the dynasty.