約1897–1900年 玻璃內畫「劉海」袖珍鼻煙壺 馬少宣家族

《馬少宣》款 「少」印

倫敦蘇富比1986年5月6及9日，編號360

Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷4，香港，2000年，編號596

Bottle: One minute chip in the outer lip and some tiny surface scratches from use. Painting: studio condition.
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The subject of Liu Hai prancing in this manner in front of his three-legged toad first appeared in 1897 and was repeated several times in that year and in 1898. It is one of the pattern-book images that the Ma family developed as part of a more decorative repertoire. Whether of full size or miniature like this and other known examples, it is always exactly the same image. It was probably one done by a family member, but with so little reliable evidence of the style of several of Ma’s relatives, it is impossible to know which. However, from Ma’s nature and extraordinary talents as revealed by his biography and his works, it can be inferred that he would probably have concentrated on the more challenging paintings while leaving to his brothers, son, and nephew the repetitive, decorative subjects that posed no artistic problems and could be reproduced by rote from existing patterns.

The Ma family painted two versions of Liu Hai, this one and another of him on a rocky bank enticing his toad from the waters below. Both made their first appearance in 1897.

The poem here reads:

          With bare legs and unkempt hair,

          not counting the years,

          Through the Ten Continents and Three Islands

          he twirled as he wished.

          At Penglai he has been cut off  

          from the world of men

          Always together with the golden toad

          he rendezvoused with the immortals.

The Ten Continents and Three Islands were believed to be remote places where the immortals resided. The same poem appears on scrolls done by other artists in 1926 and 1943, but its source is not known; it could be by Ma Shaoxuan himself.