清十九世紀 揚州作墨綠地套朱紅料海屋添籌鼻煙壺

Hartman Trading Corporation，紐約，1965年
Margaret Prescott Wise 收藏
Edgar and Roberta Wise 伉儷收藏，1995年
Robert Kleiner，倫敦，1995年

冼祖謙、許建勳及鄺溥銘編，《壺趣集慶：中國鼻煙壺展》，徐氏藝術館，香港，1996年，編號 74

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1018

The snuff bottle is in overall good condition with just tiny air bubbles, some of them burst open. There is also one chip, straight up and a little left of the rising sun.
"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."

Like Sale 4, lot 115, and lot 36 in the present sale, this bottle has carving in the ground colour and a similar subject, but the impression here is of a fairly standard example of the multiple-overlay group represented by Sale 4, lot 44. This series, among others, encourages one to associate the multiple overlays with their lower-relief counterparts as representing the process of continuous evolution in a single school.

The ground here is not the black it seems, but a transparent, dark emerald-green, although its transparent quality is partially disguised by what appears to be a naturally dulled interior surface, perhaps lightly frosted by the lapidary originally; but the effect might also be the result of a surface being naturally degraded, perhaps through dampness, although one can detect no evidence of crizzling. It is surprising how rarely what appears to be black glass in Chinese art turns out to be so, nor is it obvious why a material so obviously emerald-green when viewed with transmitted light appears jet-black in normal light.

The bats on this bottle are carved with neither an attempt at individual depiction nor artistic suggestion of dynamic movement. The wings are evenly set on each side, curving in mirror image of each other, with the body viewed from above. Schematic rather than vital, they are intended less as real bats than as symbols. On Sale 4, lot 115, representing a stage half-way between the multiple-overlay group and the lower-relief, painterly style, the bats, while beginning to show signs of life, are still essentially similar to these. On lot 36 in this sale, however, which is unmistakably of the painterly group, the bats have not only become more dynamic but are individually conceived. They are more impressive yet on other examples of the low-relief style, but the transition from stiff symbolism to vitality is a perfect illustration of the progression, within a single group of bottles, from one main stylistic group to another.