Beschreibung:

Lot details Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 Published: Wang & Co., One Man’s Choice II, Beijing, 2009, page 24-25, number 22. The publication confirms the attribution and dating above. Exhibited: The International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society Convention, Dublin, Ireland, 20-24 October 2009 Inscriptions: To one side, above the boy, ‘chu wu ni er bu ran’ (untainted though having grown from mud) one seal, ‘chen xin ru shui’ (the heart of your humble servant is as pure as water). To the other side, ‘tong xin zhi yan’ (language of the same hearts), one seal, ‘bing hu’ (icy bottle). Of flattened spherical form with a flat lip and sapphire-blue oval foot rim surrounding a flat recessed base. Exquisitely carved through the outer sapphire-blue layer to the translucent milky-white body with a boy holding up a lotus bud in a sampan floating along a lotus pond. Above the boy is the inscription in Xiao Zhuan (Qin-dynasty seal script). The other side is similarly decorated with a Taihu rock and flowering orchids above a miniature grass planter on its stand as well as a Yixing pottery teapot and a teacup, all below butterflies hovering above and another inscription. The sides are carved with animal masks suspending mock ring handles. Provenance: A private collection in France. Wang & Co., Beijing, October 2009. A private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired from the above for USD $12,000 or c. EUR 16,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation) according to a short note by the previous owner, of which a copy accompanies this lot. Wang & Co. is a noted gallery for Chinese antiques and works of art based in Beijing, run by Dick Wang, who had previously worked as an expert for Chinese art at Sotheby’s in New York and London. Condition: Good condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities, occasional light scratches, the foot rim with a minute old fill (1 x 3 mm), possibly inherent to manufacture. Stopper: Glass in imitation of coral Weight: 34.7 g Dimensions: Height incl. stopper 61 mm, Diameter neck 15 mm and mouth 5 mm Please click here to read the full description Expert’s note: This bottle belongs to a group of similarly made and carved overlay bottles that may have been ordered by patrons of the scholar-official class. The composition is painterly as well as scholastic, and the execution is demonstrative of complete mastery of the glass carving skills. The first inscription is a line from Ai Lion Shuo (Ode to the Lotus) by Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073). It compares the beauty of the lotus flower that grows unblemished from mud on the bottom of a pond to virtues men ought to possess. The seal ‘chen xin ru shui’ comes from the Biography of Zheng Chong in the Book of Han. Zheng was head of chancery in the court of Liu Xin who enjoyed the confidence of the Emperor until he began having problems with the Empress Dowager Fu and her court favorite Dong Xian. Zheng was in high demand as an official, but after falling from favor, the Emperor accused Zheng of embezzlement because of his fame. Zheng replied, ‘chen men ru shi, chen xin ru shui’ (It is like a bazaar outside my door, but my heart is as pure as water). The seal ‘bing hu’ is an abbreviation of the last line of the famous four-line poem by Wang Changling (690-756): ‘yi pian bing xin zai yu hu’ (my heart is as bright as crystal ice in a jar of jade). Literature comparison: Compare a related green overlay glass snuff bottle with a similar scene, illustrated in Hugh Moss, Victor Graham, and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 5, part 3, no. 1031. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Bonhams New York, 17 March 2014, lot 8003 Price: USD 25,000 or approx. EUR 29,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A blue overlay white glass snuff bottle, Yangzhou school, 1800-1840 Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, sapphire-blue overlay with simila