A TANGERINE-SKIN SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY

Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., 1987.

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. 1654.

The snuff bottle is in overall good condition with the exception of pieces of the blue and turquoise enamelling missing from around the neck and a tiny dint to the outer lip. There is also one small hole through the tangerine skin in the base.
"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."

Although it has additional embellishment and is not lacquered, this follows the same moulding scheme as lot 19 in the present sale, having beaded panels on all four sides and the base, although what fills them on the main sides here is different. Beaded frames, of course, are particularly easy to create in the art of moulding. All one has to do is carve into the wood mould; when the fruit grows into it and the mould is removed, the fruit has a neat relief design. Whether the goal is a beaded frame or another design, the principle is the same. Sunken designs are more difficult, because to make them requires creating a relief design on the mould.

It is worth noting that almost the entire design here consists of the simpler option of raised lines. The yinyang symbol at the centre of one main side is a bit more complicated, since little rounded bumps had to be left in relief when the interpenetrating halves of the symbol were scooped out around them on the mould: those bumps became the sunken dots in the raised yinyang design on the skin of the fruit.

Removal of the shoulder mantle to examine this bottle more closely revealed extremely careful manufacture. The fruit skin has an unusually long, thin cylindrical neck—an impressive feat in moulding a citrus skin—but instead of lining it with wood or ivory, the maker created a silver neck and attached it to an ornamental shoulder mantle. The silver neck wraps the fruit-skin neck on the outside and lines it on the inside to provide a straight, narrow opening that will hold the stopper firmly.