AN INSCRIBED ‘RED CLIFF’ AMBER NUGGET BOTTLE SIGNED SHIQUAN QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY, DATED TO 1826 OR 1886

of well-but-roughly hollowed, irregular pebble form, the outer surface a series of irregular planes, inscribed overall in regular script with an excerpt from Su Shi’s Rhapsody on Red Cliff, followed by the date ‘bingxu year, the sixth day of the fifth month’, corresponding to either 1826 or 1886, and the signature of the engraver, Shiquan; the coral stopper with a gilt-silver collar

Hamilton Collection, no. 176.
Sotheby's New York, 27th March 2003, lot 302.

Christopher C.H. Sin, 'New York Auction Review', Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Spring 2003, p. 28, fig. 7.
Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 7, Hong Kong, 2009, no. 1582

There is some shallow flakes around the mouth and a few scratches to the lip, a few other minor scratches but overall the snuff bottle is in very 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The signature Shiquan previously identified this bottle as the work of Zhang Rong, whose zi was Jingxin. Zhang Rong specialized in painting birds and flowers. He was also a skilful engraver of seals and attained a wide reputation for engraving bronze and jade seals. Although some reference works say he was active in the Daoguang and Xianfeng eras (1821 – 1861) and the cyclical date on this bottle could correspond to 1826, he is also recorded in a dictionary of mid- and late-Qianlong painters that was published in 1788, decades before the Daoguang era. If our Shiquan is indeed Zhang Rong, then, the only possible interpretation of the cyclical date bingxu is 1766, and so early a date for a literatus-engraved snuff bottle is rare.

Perhaps a more likely identification for Shiquan is Wu Yin (1866 – 1922; some sources give 1867 as the birth date). Wu was a native of Shaoxing who found work in a Hangzhou stele-carving shop when he was young and poor. His artistic talents were recognized quickly, and he received excellent training in writing and engraving all styles of calligraphy. Although he is most recognized for his achievements in seal carving, he also had successful businesses in Shanghai, producing pigment for use with seals and publishing. In addition, he was responsible for carving several steles in Zhejiang province, including one that was erected in 1887. This shows that Wu Yin was already an accomplished carver at age 21, and we can surmise that he would have been capable of carving the inscription on this snuff bottle the previous year, 1886, which was a bingxu year. We know that Wu Yin changed his zi from Shiquan to Shiqian at some point; the presence of the earlier name on this bottle would be consistent with an attribution to 1886, if he is the artist. For more information on Wu see Lu Jinglin, Shaoxing shu hua shi, Hangzhou, 2007, pp. 103-104.

One reason so many amber bottles are of pebble shape and small pebbles of amber are found as handling pieces is that the warmth and tactile responsiveness of amber made it a favourite material among the literati as a fondling material to improve blood circulation in the fingers before and after long bouts of writing and composition with the brush. This particular nugget of amber might easily have been both a snuff bottle and a convenient handling piece for a calligrapher.

The irregularly planar outer surface has inspired the transcription of the famous text by the Song literatus Su Shi. The Red Cliff visited in the text is visually recalled by the amber pebble itself, and the significance of the text, dealing with existential themes of illusion, sentience, and reality, is further enriched by the contrast between the small hollow ‘stone’ held in the hand and the vast literary rock-face held in the imagination.

The excerpt engraved here may be translated as follows:

In the autumn of the renxu year [1082], during the full moon in seventh month, Master Su and his guests went boating beneath Red Cliff. A cool breeze blew gently and the river had no waves. I raised a toast to my guests and recited ‘Bright Moon’ and sang ‘The Lady’ [poems from the Shijing, nos. 143 and 1]. Shortly, the moon rose over the eastern hills then moved leisurely among Dipper and Ox. White dew fell across the river, and the gleam of the water reached to the sky. Letting our little reed go where it would, we drifted out onto the vast expanse of water. We flew along as if we were borne by the wind up into the sky, not knowing where we would stop; we soared freely as if we had left the world behind, sprouting wings and rising aloft like immortals.

Then we drank wine and enjoyed ourselves, knocking time on the gunwales and singing:

Cassia boat and orchid oar

Strike the water, propelling us through shimmering moonbeams.

How deep is my longing!

I gaze towards the beautiful one at the edge of the sky.

One of my guests could play the flute, and he joined in with the song. His music was plaintive, as if there was something he resented or yearned for, as if someone were weeping or complaining. He continued with frail and tremulous notes, which stretched on and on like a thread. It was music that would stir the hidden dragon in a lost valley and make the widow on a lone boat cry.