A FAMILLE-ROSE PORCELAIN 'LOTUS PURSE' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG / JIAQING PERIOD

Ko collection, acquired in Shanghai, 1930.
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., 1998.

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. 1238.

Gilding worn from lip. Some wear and erosion of the enamels. Otherwise, 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."

This little bottle probably dates from the Jiaqing period, but might have been made as early as the last decade of the Qianlong reign. It is moulded (in two halves joined vertically) in the form of a purse of the type that hangs from the belt of an official or the emperor when in formal court dress. Such purses might also be used, however, in less formal attire by any well-dressed man as pouches for tobacco or a snuff bottle and as general-purpose pockets for small objects.

No other example from this mould is known. This bottle is a delightful example of both moulding and enamelling. The neck simulates the gathered pleats of a textile pouch, the pleats forming a series of serrations on the broader sides of the outer neck rim. The style of enamelling is courtly, and the vessel may well have been made at the imperial kilns, but a private product for an aspiring official is equally likely. Since it is the only known bottle of the mould, it was apparently not made in the relatively large series so often a sign of imperial production. It is unique, small, exquisitely well conceived and executed, and of considerable appeal.

The  stopper was either the original or at least made for the bottle in the mid-Qing period. If it is the original, then it is a possible clue that the bottle may have ended up at the court, since enamelling of this sort was undertaken in the palace in the mid-Qing period, and a bottle that arrived at court without a matching stopper was often fitted there with one in some combination of metal, stone, or enamelling. Similar enamelling, however, could have been produced in several other centres; by the mid-Qing, the style of imperial snuff-bottle stoppers would probably have been well known elsewhere in the empire.