A BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN 'EIGHT IMMORTALS' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, JIAQING / DAOGUANG PERIOD

Drouot (Millon-Jutheau), Paris, 6th November 1988, lot 8.
Belfort Collection, 1986. 

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. 1280.

The overall condition is 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."

By the early nineteenth century, the control and the manipulation of different shades of blue obviously presented few problems. In figure subjects such as this, for instance, colours range from a deep, brilliant cobalt-blue to a pale greyish wash, all of which are balanced against the white space of the glazed ground to create considerable variety and allow for a degree of formal sensitivity in the painting itself. By carefully composing these different intensities of wash with well-controlled lines and emphasizing dots (following the textural and descriptive dian dotting of literati painting), the artist managed to achieve a compelling level of abstract, formal weight.      

One indication of an early date here is found in the shoulder pattern of prunus blossoms on a cracked-ice ground. This was a common and extremely popular design on Qing ceramics and occurred as a decorative border in a number of arts, including architecture, where it forms the lattice pattern for a great many window frames.

Another blue-and-white bottle of similar form but different subject (although still with bats around the neck) is in the Walters Collection, formed in the 1870s and 1880s (Bushell 1980, p. 279, fig. 334).