清道光 粉彩「僧侶」圖卵石形鼻煙壺

wood stand

Hugh Moss Ltd.，香港，1994年

Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷6，香港，2007年，編號1329

It is in 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."

This is one of the few designs on imperial porcelain bottles that are both continuous across all outer surfaces of the bottle and logical. Leaving the area at the bottom white to balance the undecorated white at the top of the bottle freed the artist from having to devise a foreground that made sense through all the transitions from water to mountain. Subject matter, composition, and execution are uniformly excellent; the mountain peaks and drifting clouds are particularly evocative. With Daoguang enamelling we are no longer dealing with the levels of art represented by the Tang Ying group of bottles. Landscape details have become more decorative and repetitious, with the same basic elements of rocks, tree types, and water re-arranged to suit new compositions. Similarly drawn rocks can be found on Sale 3, lot 75, for instance, which might have been produced by the same team of designer and enamellers. They are painted in the same manner and with identical enamels, right down to their transparency and texture, with green and blue mixed in the same way.

Others bottles of this compressed ovoid design are known with various subjects, and it was obviously one of the popular shapes of the reign. Despite the lack of reign mark, it is probably imperial: the enamels and quality of the painting are typical of the imperial kilns, and the style can be found on other reign-marked bottles. Another unmarked bottle of this shape in the Barron Collection has a rare design of a frog and cricket on one side, and a cicada and pea- or bean-pods on the other.