AN ENAMEL ON COPPER SNUFF BOTTLE

famille-rose enamels on copper, of bulbous pear form with a gilt rectangular foot and slightly everted gilt mouth, beautifully painted on each face with a European shepherd and shepherdess, leisurely resting in a pastoral landscape set against European architecture, one pair with a recumbent ox, the other pair accompanied by a herd of goats, both women en decolletage, each vignette bordered by foliate scrolls at the shoulder and scrolling ribbon at the foot, a formal scrolling band at the neck in blue enamel, the base inscribed Qianlong nianzhi in blue enamel on a white ground

Ko Family Collection.
Christie's London, 14th June 1971, lot 190.
Derham.
The J & J Collection.
K.H. Chu.
Christie's London, 12th October 1987, lot 346.

JICSBS, September 1976, p. 5, no. 2.
JICSBS, Autumn 1989, p. 22, fig. 8.
Patrick K. M. Kwok, 'The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles', Arts of Asia, November-December 1993, p. 92, no. 3.

The bottle is in excellet condition overall.
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.

It is interesting to note that although the figures are clearly European and the settings are reminiscent of European pastoral landscapes, the two scenes are painted with rebuses or motifs that are strongly embedded in Chinese culture. For example, the three goats form the rebus sanyang, meaning that the New Year will bring a change of fortune. The two figures on the reverse face, seated with the cow, may have been inspired by the love story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid.

A European-subject bottle featuring a pastoral scene with three goats, also from the Palace Workshops in Beijing, is in The J & J Collection and illustrated in Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle: The J & J Collection, New York, 1993, vol. I, pp. 277-278, no. 171.

European-subject enamel on metal bottles from the Beijing Palace Workshops featuring women en decolletage are rare. One, featuring individual portraits of two women dressed in this manner, was sold in these rooms, 3rd October 1980, lot 169, and was formerly in The Meriem Collection and subsequently sold at Christie's New York, 19th March 2008, lot 295.

The present bottle held the record price at auction for a snuff bottle when it was purchased from Christie's London in 1971 and remained such for the following four years.