清乾隆 / 嘉慶 寶石紅料刻御題詩花鳥圖鼻煙壺 連水彩紙本畫 《乾隆癸丑仲春御題》款

together with a watercolour illustration by Peter Suart

倫敦蘇富比1988年6月6日，編號40

Robert Kleiner，《Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch》，大英博物館，倫敦，1995年，編號119
《Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch》，以色列博物館，耶路撒冷，1997年

Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷5，香港，2002年，編號869

Two minute chips to the outer lip, not significant. Surface scratches and abrasions from wear, one area more worn on the narrow side towards 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."

From the same group as Sale 8, lot 1082 and lot 127 in the present sale, with floral poems related to appropriate designs, this bottle may have been engraved by the same hand. There is less to suggest a shared artistic personality in the nature of the design, which being a different subject, renders comparison of particular elements more difficult. The rocks in both are remarkably similar, however, being composed of simple outlines etched with small, parallel incisions scattered evenly over the surface. This method of texturing a rock is so unusual that it must indicate the work of the same person, whether carver or designer.

The poem is inscribed on a painting by Sa Duci dated 1315 depicting two magpies on a prunus tree. As inscribed on this snuff bottle, bing 冰 (‘ice) is mistakenly written shui 水 (‘water’):

Fragrance fills the thin door curtains, moonlight fills the court:
Singing iron at the breezy eaves, water [sic] on the pool of the inkstone.
The night is cold, everyone is quiet, only the birds converse.
And I remember Luofu Mountain, climbing beyond the snow.
Fragrance fills the thin door curtains, moonlight fills the court:
Singing iron at the breezy eaves, water [sic] on the pool of the inkstone.
The night is cold, everyone is quiet, only the birds converse.
And I remember Luofu Mountain, climbing beyond the snow.

The last line alludes to a Tang story about meeting an immortal of the prunus blossoms on Luofu Mountain.

The ruby-red glass and its form are both typical of the late Qianlong period. These flattened shapes seem to have grown in popularity during his reign and became one of the most common forms for porcelain bottles from the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, produced in increasingly large numbers for the court from the late Qianlong period through the Jiaqing reign.