民國 銅胎畫琺瑯春宮圖鼻煙壺

Janos Szekeres 收藏
紐約蘇富比1986年10月27日，編號212
Eldred's，1991年8月22日，編號SB-345

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1139

There is an area of repair and repainting at the top of the neck just below the outer lip. There are also some small surface scratches and abrasions from use. It is otherwise in overall 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."

Both enamelling and subject matter demonstrate that this is a late product from Guangzhou. The enamel workshops there continued production well into the twentieth century for various export wares, although demand tailed off to some extent after the eighteenth century. By the late Qing dynasty, the West was awash with Chinese goods, and they were no longer quite the wondrous novelty they once were. In fact, after 1853 and the opening up of Japan, attention shifted to that even more mysterious nation. As a rule, these later Qing and Republican wares were of a lower standard artistically, mostly tourist-trade goods, but the technical skills had not been lost; however abysmal the painting became, the enamellers were still capable of firing their wares to an excellent standard.

The woman here is either a Westerner or a 'modern' Chinese girl. She not only wears Western sock garters and sports the bobbed hair of the 1920s, she also has normal-sized, unbound feet that mark her as either a foreigner, an elite Manchu woman (only the majority Han Chinese population practiced foot binding), or a Chinese girl born late enough to benefit from the prohibition of foot binding that came with the founding of the Republic. In the many erotic pictures known from the Qing dynasty, the women tend to have bound feet—the only parts of their bodies that are always covered. The man here is obviously Western or modern in his accessories and hair, but his costume is incongruent, perhaps the product of the painter’s imagination.