清十八 / 十九世紀（壺）/ 1934年（刻） 白玉關祖章刻三秋閣遺訓鼻煙壺 《甲戌季春男關祖章敬鐫》款

White Wings 收藏
Robert Kleiner，倫敦，1998年

Robert Kleiner，《Chinese Snuff Bottles: The White Wings Collection》，香港，1997年，編號29

The overall condition is excellent.
"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 inscription on one main side reads

待下寬厚，擇交謹慎。立志向上，理路清楚。

Treat inferiors with magnanimity;
In selecting friends, act with care.
In setting goals, strive for improvement;
In your arguments, be clear.

The other main side reads

運思縝密，任事果毅。事上恭敬，處世謙和。

In forming plans, be detailed and complete;
In your undertakings, be bold and resolute.
Serve superiors with respect;
In society, be modest and harmonious.

There does not appear to be a source for these commonplaces as a single text, but the same inscription appears on a nephrite plaque sold at auction by China Guardian on 21 October 1996, lot 1782; that piece also bore the name Zuzhang. It is ascribed to the mid-dynasty, but the information on this bottle allows us to establish that while the bottle itself is roughly of that period, the inscriptions are much later.

The Sanqiu ge belonged to Guan Mianjun 關冕鈞 (1871 – 1933); he is presumably the one who formulated these eight maxims for good conduct. Guan Mianjun was part of a government delegation that went to Europe and North America in 1905 to investigate the advantages of a constitutional system of government; he was also a supporter of railroad construction.

Guan Zuzhang (Kwan Tsu-chang, 1894 – 1966), who carved this bottle or had it carved, was Mianjun’s son. He went to the U.S. in his mid-teens to study. Graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York in 1916, he was accepted as a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1918 and the American Society of Testing Materials in 1919.

Both men were collectors of books and antiquities; a 1928 work on calligraphy and painting by the elder Guan is a major resource for art historians, and his son’s book plates are collectors’ items today—they were apparently the first of their kind in China. Over one hundred bronze mirrors auctioned by China Guardian in February 2004 were from the family collection; they had eventually been returned to the Guan family after being seized during Cultural Revolution, during which Guan Zuzhang perished.