Beschreibung:

Lot details Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 China, Beijing, 1720-1780. Well carved in the form of a carp with short fins on its back and sides and neatly incised scales, its gaping mouth forming the rim of the bottle. The carp is being transformed into a dragon, clearly visible from the pair of horns which have sprouted from the carp’s head. The translucent stone is of a grayish-white hue with black and dark brown patches and veins as well as icy inclusions. Provenance: Collection of Mei Lin. Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd.. London, United Kingdom, 2000. A private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired from the above. A copy of the original invoice from Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd., dated 20 June 2000, confirming the Imperial attribution and dating above, and stating a purchase price for the present lot of GBP 2,800 or approx. EUR 7,400 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Mei Lin is an important collector of Chinese works of art. From September 2021 to January 2022, the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong held a long-anticipated exhibition titled Reflected Beauty: Chinese Reverse Glass Paintings from the Mei Lin Collection. The Mei Lin Collection was acquired in East Asia between 1968 and 2012 and is one of the world's most important collections of Chinese reverse glass paintings from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Parts of the collection have been shown at the City Museum of Augsburg, Germany, at the Swiss Glass Museum in Romont, Switzerland, and are on show in Germany at the Landesmuseum Hannover until 16 April 2023 and the Museum Werdenfels in Garmisch-Partenkirchen until 31 March 2023. Condition: Superb condition with only minor wear. The stone with natural inclusions and fissures. Stopper: Natural pearl Weight: 40.1 g Dimensions: Height excl. stopper 47 mm, Diameter neck 18 mm and mouth 4 mm Please click here to read the full description Expert’s note: The quality and sophistication of detail on this bottle are clear pointers to a Palace workshop provenance, as is the subject matter. The dragon carp is a symbol of a candidate passing the Imperial examinations and qualifying as an official. The symbolism came from the carp which were observed swimming up the Yellow River. According to legend these carp would leap the Longmen Falls, an extremely arduous task, and upon successful completion the fish would be transformed into a dragon. A bottle embodying this symbolism would possibly be given by the Emperor to the most successful candidates. The carp also symbolizes wealth since the Chinese word for it (yu) puns with yu meaning prosperity, and passing the Imperial examinations was a guarantee of prosperity. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, lot 3747 Price: HKD 162,500 or approx. EUR 21,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A white jade ‘carp’ snuff bottle, Qing dynasty, 18th century Expert remark: Compare the related carp motif, with the mouth also forming the rim of the bottle, although this carp shows no signs of transforming into a dragon. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Bonhams London, 15 May 2014, lot 462 Price: GBP 31,250 or approx. EUR 54,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A white jade ‘bixi’ snuff bottle, 18th/19th century Expert remark: Compare the related style of snuff bottle, with the mouth of this bixi also forming the rim of the bottle. Note the size (60 mm). 点此阅读中文翻译 (Chinese Translation) 玉雕龍魚鼻煙壺，或爲御製 中國，北京，1720-1780年。鼻煙壺呈鯉魚造型，背部和側面有短鰭，鱗片刻畫清晰，張開的嘴巴構成了瓶的邊緣。從鯉魚頭上長出的一對角可以清楚感應到鯉魚正蛻變成一條龍。半透明玉石呈灰白色，帶有黑色和深棕色的斑塊和紋理以及內沁。 來源：梅林收藏；英國倫敦Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd.藝廊，2000年；英國私人收藏，購自上述藝廊。隨附Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd. 於 2000年 6 月 20 日開具的原始發票副本，確認了上述御用來源和日期，並註明了此拍品當時的價格為 2,800 英鎊或約 7,400 歐元（根據撰寫本文時的通貨膨脹情況進行換算和調整）。 梅林是一位重要的中國藝術品收藏家。 2021年9月至2022年1月，香港大學藝術館舉辦了一場萬眾矚目的展覽，名為《鏡