清十八 / 十九世紀 碧石磨棱鼻煙壺

Hugh M. Moss Ltd.，1993年

Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷2，香港，1998年，編號237

Small nibbles to the outer lip and the outer edge of one oval panel. Slight surface abrasions from use.
"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."

There is a series of imperial snuff bottles made in glass, enamelled glass, and occasionally in enamelled metal where the form is taken directly from a pocket watch. They are usually octagonal in their main profile and of compressed spherical or oval form with convex circular or oval panels on the two main sides. A related group has the same convex panels on each main face, but is not octagonal; this bottle fits into that range. Whether one was derived from the other is not known, but there are watches from the seventeenth century of octagonal, compressed spherical, or even compressed ovoid form to allow for all of the shapes to have been based upon watches and to have evolved independently of each other. The popularity of European watches provided a number of stimuli for the snuff-bottle maker, particularly for the court, throughout the Qing dynasty.

The material here is jasper in its typical brown, yellow, and reddish-orange range of colours, which with its swirling pattern of markings provides a pleasant playground for the game of visual interpretation, as does most jasper. It is extremely well made, although not extensively hollowed, with perfect formal integrity and lovely, thoughtful detailing. The narrow-side panels, for instance, have been gently bowed to help alleviate the problems of joining a flat band to a cylindrical neck, a feature that also echoes the convexity of the main oval panels more harmoniously than would an entirely flat surface.