AN ENAMELLED PORCELAIN 'WINTER AND SUMMER LANDSCAPE' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

Collection of Johanna Krug.
Lempertz, Cologne, 27th November 1992, lot 357.
Robert Hall, 1993.

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 204.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997.

Johanna Krug, Prisen aus kleinen Tabakflaschen: Notizen und Bilder einer Sammlung, Munich, 1967, p. 33, pl. VIII.
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. 1159.

Some small nibbles to the footrim, one to the outer lip and another on the edge just above the foot. Areas of wear to the gold paint. Two small browns spots one on either side, part of the original firing process.
"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 unusual style, imitating the scholarly medium of ink paintings, seems perhaps a little more likely to have come from the latter part of the Qianlong reign, while the emperor was still closely involved in developing new types and designs of snuff bottles and still vitally interested in the art form. His son does not appear to have shared his love of innovation in art and matched neither his creativity nor output. The unusual gold-on-brown surrounds are also more likely to be late Qianlong than Jiaqing. The gold-on-brown enamels are obviously inspired by such a bottle as Sale 1, lot 46. Such an evolution in the arts is not unusual: an original Yixing bottle inspires a Jingdezhen copy, and this in turn informs the ongoing decorative repertoire of the enamellers at Jingdezhen.

In the discussion of Sale 1, lot 46, it was shown that the Yixing models could be attributable to the 1760s. In present case, the range of 1765–1799 for the bottle is supported by the existence of a remarkably similar bottle in the imperial collection (Li Jiufang 2002, no. 316). That one is inscribed with a six-character Qianlong reign mark in gold enamel on the foot, where a floral design found here. It also has the reverse panel inscribed in seal script, followed by the seals of the emperor, Qian and long. Both bottles have sensitively painted ‘ink’ landscapes combined with a rather broad-brush design in gold enamel surrounding the panels, and each has an intriguing edging of iron-red to gold frames surrounding the main panels, which is particularly effective as a frame for the black landscape design. Both would appear to date from much the same period and to have come from the same inspiration. The most likely date for both bottles may be the last two decades of the reign, though a slightly earlier date remains possible. Whenever this bottle was made, it is a rare example, impressive for its delightful reference to literati ink-painting style.