A YIXING STONEWARE SNUFF BOTTLE

of shouldered tapering hexagonal form, finely decorated in buff-colored slip on three vertical panels with a mountainous river landscape, and on the other panels with leaves and grasses

Clare Lawrence Ltd.

Patrick K. M. Kwok, 'The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles', Arts of Asia, November-December 1993, pp. 92-7, no. 31.

There are two very shallow and small chips to the slip on the mouth rim. In otherwise 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.

A number of bottles decorated in buff or cream slip with similar landscape and plant subjects are known, and it seems likely they can be attributed to one workshop in Yixing, or even to one particular artist. The subject matter owes much to Chinese literati landscape art, and an interesting discussion of the links between such paintings and the depictions of similar subjects on snuff bottles can be found in the article by Dawn Ho Delbanco, 'The Allure of Landscape Imagery', JICSBS, Spring 2006, pp. 4-15, where a similarly decorated bottle is illustrated on p. 12, fig. 22.

A Yixing bottle of identical form and decoration to the present example was in the Collection of Mrs. John Sheafe Douglas, and is illustrated in Chinese Snuff Bottles and Jade Carvings from the Douglas, Gnam and Other Collections, The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, 1992, pp. 26-7, no. 35. Another similar octagonal bottle is in The Crane Collection, www.thecranecollection.com, no. 356, where Clare Chu notes that a bottle by this artist bears a cyclical date generally traditionally accepted as corresponding to 1840 but which could possibly be given as 1780.