A MAGNIFICENT ENAMEL ON MOLDED AND CARVED WHITE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE

of flattened circular form with shoulders sloping to a slightly everted mouth, supported on a flared neatly carved footrim, the milky white glass brilliantly carved and painted in famille-rose enamels on both faces, one depicting a proud phoenix perched on pierced rockwork, accompanied by dramatically rendered peonies, the reverse with two quail standing below tall chrysanthemum sprays growing from dramatic rockwork, the base inscribed in iron-red guyue xuan

Irving Lindzon, Toronto, 1987.
The J & J Collection.
Christie's Hong Kong, 25th April 2004, lot 820.

Christie's London, October 1987.
Christie's New York, 1993.
Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1994.
Museum fur Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, 1996-1997.
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1997.
Naples Museum of Art, Florida, 2001 - 2002.
Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Oregon, 2002.
National Museum of History, Taipei, 2002.
International Asian Art Fair, Seventh Regiment Armory, New York, 2003.
Poly Art Museum, Beijing, 2003.

JICSBS, June 1978, p. 16, no. 14.
100 Selected Chinese Snuff Bottles from the J & J Collection, London 1987, back cover and no. 43.
JICSBS, Autumn 1989, front cover.
Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle: The J & J Collection, New York, 1993, Vol. 1, pp. 348-349, no. 202.

The bottle is in excellent condition overall. The mark is also in 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present bottle belongs to a group that share similar design elements, but are all ultimately unique. The molding and enamelling on this example are both of stellar quality, as is the treatment of the flowers. One notable feature is the extension of the painting from the molding to the body, thereby providing a sense of fluidity to the two scenes.

For similar bottles, see one in the collection of the Marquess of Exeter illustrated in Hugh Moss, Chinese Snuff Bottles: 6, London, 1974, p. 100, fig. E. 1; another, illustrated by Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles: The White Wings Collection, Hong Kong, 1997, pp. 64-65, pl. 45; and a third formerly in The Meriem Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 19th September 2007, lot 680.

While the guyue xuan mark on the base is often rubbed due to the softness of the iron-red enamel, this mark is intact. For a discussion of the mark, see lot 121.