1899年 自怡子作玻璃內畫牧牛圖鼻煙壺 《己亥夏自怡子》款

Rare Art，紐約，1979年
Gerd Lester 收藏，1986年

Robert Kleiner、楊伯達及 Clarence F. Shangraw，《盈寸纖研 ─ 瑪麗及佐治伯樂鼻煙壺珍藏》，香港藝術館，香港，1994年，編號350
新加坡國家博物館，新加坡，1994-5年
倫敦佳士得，1999年

Gerd Lester，〈Artistry in a Bottle〉，《Antiques World》，1980年9月，頁67
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621

The overall condition is very good, except for a few minor nibbles to the outer lip and outer foortrim of the bottle, as well as some surface scratches.
"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."

For 1899 there are three bottles recorded by Ziyizi, all of which have copies of archaic inscriptions on one side. It is inscriptions of this sort that help to reinforce impression of the artist’s literate interests and probable scholarly background. Although some of the copied inscriptions are repeated, others are fresh each time, and the compositions vary. The first here, on the right, is a three-character inscription reading Yi zisun 宜子孫 (‘Bring harmony to the sons and grandsons’), a standard part of many ancient bronze inscriptions.

The second is an inscription from a Han-dynasty washing vessel that bore the inscription Dong Chang qi 董昌器 (‘Dong Chang’s vessel’). The inscription had been published in the Jiguzhai zhongding yiqi kuanzhi 積古齋鐘鼎彝器款識 by Ruan Yuan 阮 元 (1764 – 1849) in 1842; it also seems to have been a popular choice for Yixing ware, including this vase made in Shanxi by a pottery firm that hired a number of Yixing carvers in the late-Qing-to-early-Republican period, so there is no way of knowing whether Ziyizi’s knowledge of the published inscription was direct or indirect.

The third inscription, the nine characters centre-left, reads Shi Yan zuo lüguiyi, qi yong baoyong史燕作旅簋益，其永寶用 (‘Shi Yan made this display guiyi vessel; may it be treasured and used forever’). This inscription had also been published in Ruan Yuan’s collection of inscriptions decades before the bottle was painted.

The fourth inscription is on the left and reads da jixiang大吉羊 (‘Very auspicious’). It is taken from Han-dynasty washing vessels.

The composition of the various inscriptions is very well thought out and confidently inscribed with bold brushwork, being neatly balanced with Ziyizi’s own inscription in his distinctive and literate cursive script. The positioning of the bright vermillion yin seal is particularly impressive, for it enables it to act as a counterweight to the powerful grouping of archaic scripts that dominate the overall composition.

On the other side is a subject unique in the artist’s oeuvre. While being inspired no doubt by Zhou Leyuan’s similar images of herdboys on water buffaloes, it is entirely Ziyizi’s own composition. It is in his typical style of painting for figures and animals, where the beasts are not outlined at all but painted in the ‘boneless’ style revitalized by the early Qing painter Yun Shouping 惲壽平 (1633–1690). This is balanced by the distant range of hills that are also in the boneless style and very convincingly realized. The boy and the trees are painted in the more traditional style of outline filled with wash, setting up a nice balance between the elements.

There is a hint of Ziyizi’s artistic confidence in the fact that he has made no attempt to indicate the water other than by abruptly truncating the images of the water buffaloes.

This is one of the many bottles in the Bloch Collection that is in studio condition, allowing one to see exactly how his works would have looked on the day he painted them.