清乾隆 御製銅胎畫北京琺瑯「鐵拐李引蝠」圖鼻煙壺 御作仿製 《乾隆年製》款

with a flat lip and slightly recessed concave foot surrounded by a protruding convex footrim, painted in famille-rose enamels with a continuous scene of two of the Eight Immortals set in a rocky, waterside landscape with a leafy tree and shrubbery, with Li Tieguai, his walking-stick and straw hat tied together over the curved trunk of the tree on which he sits, releasing a cloud of vapour and five bats from his double gourd, while Lan Caihe watches, seated on a nearby rock with his basket of peaches and flowers beside him on the ground, the neck and base with borders of formalized lingzhi design, the foot inscribed with the four-character reign mark in blue enamel, the interior covered with a patchy, turquoise-blue enamel, the exposed metal gilt; the gilt-bronze stopper chased with a formalised floral design, probably original

倫敦佳士得1993年6月7日，編號245

《Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch》，大英博物館，倫敦，1995年，編號6
以色列博物館，耶路撒冷，1997年

Clare Lawrence，〈London Auction Reviews〉，《國際中國鼻煙壺協會學術期刊》，1993年秋，頁30，圖4
Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷6，香港，2007年，編號1075

The enamels are slightly misfired, leaving some white crackles on the surface painting which have, in a few areas, been touched up with restoration to minimize them. Otherwise the bottle is in overall quite good condition. The actual colours softer, less saturated compared to the catalogue illustration.
"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 the art of painting with enamels on a metal ground was largely perfected quite quickly after its introduction as an art in the late Kangxi period, shrinkage of the surface layer of coloured enamels there remained a persistent problem. A few early Qianlong period enamels on metal exhibit this phenomenon, including the present example, which presumably arose from an inability to match the coefficiency of expansion of the two layers of enamel in the firing process.

Certain anomalies in the design, such as Li Tieguai's crutch painted as a Western walking stick, suggest that if this particular bottle was not one of those rare examples that was actually painted by a Jesuit artist, it is certainly a very accurate Chinese copy of a design prepared by a European.