清十八 / 十九世紀 白玉雕竹簍紋鼻煙壺

Trojan 收藏
Robert Hall，倫敦，1993年

Robert Hall，《Chinese Snuff Bottles V: From the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Trojan》，倫敦，1992年，編號14
Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷1，香港，1996年，編號97

A natural flawline running from the rope handle up and across to the base of the neck. Another running across the lip. 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."

So many examples of basketweave bottles can be attributed to the court or to court influence that it is clearly established as a popular imperial subject of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This basketweave bottle differs from the standard range in two respects. The prominent pattern of the basketweave is aligned horizontally rather than vertically, and two loop handles, one on each shoulder, host a dangling rope-handle. It is the latter that links the bottle to flower- and fruit-basket designs in other materials, most of which have a handle attached to two loops. This is an extremely rare feature on basketweave-pattern bottles, and since the bottle itself is unlikely to pre-date the late-Qianlong period and is, therefore, unlikely to be a prototype for the design, the obvious conclusion is that the handle was added to this particular bottle in response to the popular style of the woven baskets containing fruit and flowers. This would allow a possible imperial attribution, which is not at all unlikely, since the other two white jade basketweave bottles in this collection can also be attributed to the court and the mid-Qing period (see Sale 2, lot 56 and Sale 6, lot 176). Another possible stylistic link with the imperial flower- and-fruit-basket group is the form, which is unusual for a basketweave-pattern bottle, more closely resembling the sort of shape one would expect of a glass bottle of the subject.

The form, unusual disposition of the weave, and the rope handle breaking up the formal symmetry of the design, together with the fine hollowing and detailing, particularly of the concave lip with its basketweave edge, all combine to make this one of the most spectacular and appealing of all basketweave snuff bottles.