清十九世紀 青花「人物故事」圖袖珍鼻煙壺

Gerry P. Mack
Beverly Mack Hall
Robert Kleiner，2000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1279

One dimple in the glaze below the base of the neck. Good condition.
"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."

A general trend with enamelled porcelain bottles appears to be that when neck borders are present, they are more interesting and symbolically legible on the earlier bottles. As nineteenth the century progressed, a popular market that had lower standards than the palace demanded ever increasing levels of speed and quantity in production. Decorative corruption seeped in. The first elements to suffer, not unnaturally, were repetitive, time-consuming decorative borders. The more often craftsmen have to repeat such elements for a less discriminating market, the more careless they become. This feeds on itself, as often the later design is taken as a model for the next, and abbreviations are further abbreviated, until the original symbolic intention is barely legible. No doubt another contributing factor to this corrupting process was the increase in the market for foreigners from the mid-century onwards. To the vast majority of foreigners, all but the most obvious symbolism went unrecognized. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that Western collectors began to read the symbolism in the main design, let alone the decorative borders.

The quality of the neck band here, as well as the overall form, style, and subject, all point to the early nineteenth century; more specifically, the latter part of the Jiaqing reign.

The subject here seems to be an historical or pseudo-historical event, if the object being presented so formally is indeed a gui (on which, see the gui-shaped Sale 5, lot 51).