AN INSIDE-PAINTED CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE BY ZHOU LEYUAN

of flattened rectangular form with shoulders sloping to a cylindrical neck, resting on a neatly carved oval foot, painted in ink and colors with a wistful lady seated by a wide window overlooking a garden, holding a lotus blossom, below a tall pine tree, with an inscription, the reverse depicting a misty lake scene with two small fishing boats and a pavilion, beneath a short inscription and red seal

Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd.

Pigment is intact, in overall good condition with minor chip at the foot of the bottle
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.

Zhou Leyuan did not use a copybook, unlike Ye Zhongsan and Ma Shaoxuan, with the consequence that his compositions tended to be freer and livelier even when, as a commercial artist, he repeated the same subject matter. He used the same studio name, 'The Lotus-root Fragrance Studio' (Ouxiang zhai) throughout his career, except for a few months in the summer and autumn of 1891 when an alternative name appears, 'The Studio of Thirty-six Documents' (Sanshiliushu zhai). 'The Lotus-root Fragrance Studio' was located at Xuenwu Men in Xuannan, southwest Beijing, near the Ox Street district - the Muslim quarter of the Capital.

The inscriptions, including a poem by Li Bo, can be translated as:

'A breeze stirs up the fragrance of lotus flowers, fills the water pavilion with it.
Meeting King Wu on the Gusu Tower,
Xishi, so intoxicated, can only dance languidly but adorably,
[Who then has to] lounge in the white jade couch at the east window.

Made by Zhou Leyuan / Yuan [Seal]

An elegant antique that belongs to my dear brotherly friend Master Yagu'