清約1874-1876年 粉彩「美國鷹徽」鼻煙壺

香港拍賣行及地產代理有限公司1993年1月15日，編號344
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd，1993年

Robert Kleiner，《Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch》，大英博物館，倫敦，1995年，編號222
《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6，香港，2007年，編號1413

Gilding worn from the lip and in various places within the design. Small scratches and abrasions through use. One area of more considerable wear half way down one side. The occasional glaze bubble, not obtrusive.
"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."

Once American ships began trading at Guangzhou in the mid-Qing period, a range of porcelain wares was decorated with subjects suited to their market. Howard and  Ayers 1978, pp. 499–513, make a convincing case for this particular design having been made to commemorate the 1876 centenary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the U.S., suggesting a fairly specific date of production. If ordered for export, they would have been made long enough before the centenary to allow for shipping time and then discontinued; if the initiative came from the Chinese side, production could have begun later and ended less abruptly.

This bottle was probably enamelled at Guangzhou; it is decorated in a distinctive palette similar to other wares thought to have been decorated there. The colouring is typical of a late-Qianlong group of export wares made that favoured the predominance of an unlikely combination of brown, iron-red and pink.

The Chinese enamellers obviously had some trouble understanding the design they were given. The band at the shoulders seems based on an American floral scrolling stencil design but has been reduced to a series of incoherent squiggles and splashes of enamel.

Although larger vessels from this commemorative series are well known, the snuff bottles are extremely rare. Their rarity is partly obscured by a group of modern fakes made with a similar design in the 1970s. For one of the twentieth-century copies, see Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 28th April 1997, lot 54.