- 136
AN ENAMELLED PORCELAIN 'WATCH' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY
Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 HKD
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Description
- porcelain
Provenance
Collection of Paulla J. Hallett.
Sotheby’s New York, 2nd December 1985, lot 7.
Sotheby’s New York, 2nd December 1985, lot 7.
Literature
Ted H. Exstein, 'New York Auction Review', Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Winter 1985, p. 29.
Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Winter 1989, p. 12, fig. 21.
Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 6, Hong Kong, 2007, no. 1189.
Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Winter 1989, p. 12, fig. 21.
Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 6, Hong Kong, 2007, no. 1189.
Condition
Gilding worn on lip and foot. Slight wear to the painting of the hands of the clock. Surface abrasions from wear.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
The interior is unglazed, and the painting of the design surrounding the watch face is typical of the bold but folksy designs of the Jiaqing reign on popular, non-imperial wares. The neck border is also quite legible as standard formalised lingzhi forms, so although a little leeway has been left in the usual manner, a Jiaqing date for this is probably the most plausible.
This is not a straight copy of a European watch. The watch face is divided into the Twelve Earthy Branches of the cyclical dating system (zi, chou, yin, mao, chen, si, wu, wei, shen, you, xu and hai), which are also used to denote the two-hour divisions of the Chinese day. (The movement of a functioning watch of this design would have to be slowed to turn the hands at half the ‘normal’ speed to cover twenty-four hours in a single sweep of the hour hand.) Starting from zi at 6 o-clock and reading clockwise, they proceed in the correct order.