AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS 'PORTRAIT OF TAN XINPEI' SNUFF BOTTLE MA SHAOXUAN, CIRCA 1899-1900

Zhirou Zhai Collection, Hong Kong.
Hugh M. Moss Ltd., 1993.

Robert Kleiner, Boda Yang, and Clarence F. Shangraw, Chinese Snuff Bottles: A Miniature Art from the Collection of George and Mary Bloch, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 345.
National Museum of Singapore, Singapore, 1994-1995.
Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 422.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997.

Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 4, Hong Kong, 2000, no. 604.

Bottle: Good condition. Painting: 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."

Ma Shaoxuan was a keen Beijing opera fan and, it has been said, a bit of an amateur singer himself. One of his heroes and one of the premier stars of the day was Tan Xinpei (1847 – 1917), whose talent was greatly admired by Ma as, indeed, it was by all opera aficionados, including the court, for which he played command performances.

Ma’s Beijing opera portraits were always superbly painted and impressive and one may assume, given their quality and the information from his biography, that he painted them all himself. He first painted them in 1899. During that year and the following one, 1900, he painted quite a large number (we have a record of ten that are dated, five from 1899 and five from 1900), but there are also at least a dozen undated examples.

The extraordinarily successful career of Tan Xinpei is covered in Curtis 1980.

The poem inscribed on the back of this example is in praise of General Huang Zhong.

He had white-flecked brows and hoary head—but none could match his bravery;
With meritorious service to Emperor Zhaolie, he was truly a senior servant of the throne.
Yet if not for the actors of the Pear Garden, who sing and dance so well,
Who nowadays would know about this general?

Zhaolie was Liu Bei, monarch of the Shu kingdom. ‘Pear Garden’ refers to acting troops; an establishment by this name was set up in the palace by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–755) for the training of singing and dancing performers. Given the role of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in keeping the lore of Liu Bei, Huang Zhong, and other heroes and villains vividly alive in the minds of the Chinese, Ma Shaoxuan is exaggerating the importance of the opera in educating the populace about Huang Zhong, but indeed Tan Xinpei made the general larger than life in turn-of-the-century Beijing. A common saying of the time was ‘Who has time to worry about the nation’s survival? The whole city competes in shouting “Tian’er”’. (Guojia xingwang shei guande, mancheng zheng chang, jiao Tian’er! 國家興亡誰管得，滿城爭唱叫天兒.) Tian’er (‘Heaven’s kid’) was Tan’s stage name.