AN OCTAGONAL DOUBLE-GOURD SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

Collection of Bob C. Stevens.
Sotheby’s New York, 26th March 1982, lot 203.
Collection of Janos Szekeres.
Sotheby’s New York, 5th June 1987, lot 109.

Chinese Snuff Bottles and Dishes, Mikimoto Hall, Tokyo, 1978, cat. no. 329.
Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 336.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997.

Bob C. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, New York, 1976, no. 732.
Snuff Bottle Review, December 1978, p. 8.
Carol Michaelson, 'The Use of Archaism as a Decorative Motif in Snuff Bottles', Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Winter 2000, pl. 14, fig. 44.
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. 1499.

One right-angled crack in the lower bulb in the groove between two bulbs (.58 cm at its longest), not obtrusive. Also one insignificant shallow scratch at the waist. Patinated through use with a darkened, mottled surface with some surface scratching and wear, but only noticeable under magnification. General relative condition: excellent.
"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."

One method of constraining a gourd in growth is to tie a network (wire or string, perhaps) around a young fruit so that when it continues to grow it can only bulge out between the containing strands (see Wang Shixiang’s 王世襄 article in JICSBS, Winter 1997, pp. 4 –13, for the various methods of producing gourd snuff bottles).

This famous Bob Stevens bottle is one of the most complex of all the bottles produced by this method. It is also under extraordinary control, considering the vagaries of the process. The maker achieved remarkable symmetry with his eight bulges on each bulb. The final product was then finished off with the more painstaking inset necks, where the separate material, ivory in this case, reaches further down inside the gourd than outside, providing not only an upper-neck rim and lip, but also an inner-neck lining. To cap it all, the exterior profile of the lip has been made octagonal to match the eight vertical bulges of the bulbs.

One’s only clue to dating is the degree of patination, which is greater than on the other plainer gourds in this collection and obviously natural. It would be commensurate with an eighteenth-century or perhaps a mid-Qing date. It is the most impressive of the known cord-tied moulded gourds and, because of the astonishing symmetrical management of the process, one of the more impressive among undecorated gourds in general.