清十八 / 十九世紀 青金石嵌寶人物圖鼻煙壺 日本津田家族飾

Dorothea Esty 收藏，1974年
Margaret Prescott Wise 收藏，編號623
Edgar and Roberta Wise 伉儷收藏，1995年
Robert Kleiner，倫敦，1996年

冼祖謙、許建勳及鄺溥銘編，《壺趣集慶：中國鼻煙壺展》，徐氏藝術館，香港，1996年，編號220

Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷7，香港，2009年，編號1705

There are some typical nicks and chips to the inlays, including a nibble to the trousers of the leftmost man, as well as the left face of the central scholar and the rightmost table leg on the reverse. Please note that the piece missing from the table leg happened at some point after the photos were taken, the photo does not show the missing leg. There are also a small flake to the outer lip, in addition to some minor surface scratches and slight wear to the gold paint. The actual colours are less vivid than the catalogue illustration.
"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 rare example on a lapis lazuli ground is from the earlier group of embellished wares by either Tsuda S­­­ōkan 津田宗貫 (1868 – 1834) or his son Tsuda Fukuya 津田復也 (spelling unconfirmed). The son learned his art from his father, probably from about 1920 until the father died in the 1930s; by then he would have been working closely alongside him for better than a decade, and his contribution to the finished products would have increased, making their styles indistinguishable.

One feature of the finest works, apart from their greater artistry and creative genius, is the use of a wider range of materials. Sometimes cinnabar-red lacquer, instead of being painted thinly onto the surface, is used for substantial sections and carved to shape. This would involve having thicknesses of cinnabar lacquer produced by an outside specialist, presumably, since this was a hazardous and tedious process involving somewhat unpleasant workshop conditions. These could then be carved into segments, in much the same way as soapstone was. In this case, red lacquer is used for the box set on the table.

Another unusual feature here, which also speaks of the flexibility and complexity of the finer earlier wares, is the depiction of a painting set in a screen. It is an imitation of a typical Chinese-style landscape, but on a gold-leaf background much favoured by followers of the Rimpa school of painting.

It seems likely that the two subjects here are made to be read together, since the youth walking away from the group on the side with the massive vase full of liquid of some sort, perhaps wine, only makes compositional sense if he is walking towards the figures on the other side. As a matter of fact, the adult with his hand on the screen seems to be expecting him, for his head is turned towards the narrow side around which the boy will come.

The commentary on this bottle in Treasury 7 identifies other published Tsuda bottles and attempts to categorise them to some extent. One correction should be added here: the reference to Moss, Graham, and Tsang 1993 should have listed only one bottle, no. 302.