An Inscribed Ruby-Red Overlay White Glass ‘Duck’ Snuff Bottle Yangzhou School, Qing Dynasty, Early 19th Century

Robert Kleiner, London, 1989.

Moss et al., 1996-2009, vol. 5, no. 1038.

A miniscule chip to the outer lip. 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."

A representative of the rarer group with carving in the ground colour, this is among the most restrained bottles from the Yangzhou school. The decoration in the ground colour is composed of engraved lines only, delineating the water in which the duck swims. This is a feature of the school found more often than is indicated by the bottles in this collection. Otherwise the use of the overlay colour is sparing to the point of reticence, as illustrated by a rare foot rim in the ground colour. This feature is encountered so rarely in the school’s finest works that our suspicions were immediately aroused concerning the possibility that a coloured foot rim might have been removed. There is, however, no sign of one, what remains being small but perfectly formed and entirely in keeping with the restraint of the decoration.

There a very similar bottle, decorated with the same subject of ducks, from the J & J Collection (Moss, Graham, and Tsang 1993, no. 404) that has a red overlay foot, but of similarly restrained, shallow profile. In any case, an unusual foot is perhaps what we should expect here, since the design and use of the overlay are also unusual. On the side featuring branches of blossoming peach picked out in the contrasting overlay colour, it is very discreetly used, leaving part of the design in the ground colour. On the reverse, with the magnificently restrained duck, the contrasting overlay is confined to its beak, eye, and leg, three blossoms—one in mid-flight—and the signature. The balance, as with so many of the finest examples attributable to Yangzhou with carving in the ground colour, is beyond reproach.