AN INSIDE-PAINTED SHADOW AGATE ‘BOYS’ SNUFF BOTTLE, BY YE ZHONGSAN

AN INSIDE-PAINTED SHADOW AGATE ‘BOYS’ SNUFF BOTTLE, BY YE ZHONGSAN China, the bottle mid-18th to early 19th century, the painting c. 1904-1945. Very well hollowed, the squat body rising from an oval foot to a tall cylindrical neck with a flat lip. Superbly painted to one side with an elderly farmer tipping his hat as he converses with a young boy, and to the other with three boys setting up a picnic, all below a gnarled pine on lush green grounds. The agate with attractive natural inclusions like drops of water rippling in a pond. Inscriptions: Signed to the top, ‘Ye Zhongsan’. One seal of the artist, ‘yin’. Provenance: A private collection in Chicago, USA. Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and natural imperfections to the agate including fissures with associated tiny losses. Minuscule nicks and microscopic losses to the mouth and foot. Stopper: Hardstone with metal collar Weight: 57.6 g Dimensions: Height including stopper 63 mm. Diameter neck 16 mm and mouth 6 mm. Literature comparison: Compare a related inside-painted agate snuff bottle by Ye Zhongsan in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, accession number 1939-31-50. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 26 May 2013, lot 118 Price: HKD 62,500 or approx. EUR 9,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: An inside-painted agate snuff bottle, Ye family, second month, 1938 Expert remark: Compare the closely related material and manner of painting. Note that while this bottle also shows the signature of Ye Zhongsan, it is attributed to a member of the Ye family. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Bonhams New York, 21 September 2021, lot 461 Price: USD 12,750 or approx. EUR 13,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: An inside-painted rock crystal snuff bottle, Ye Zhongsan or Studio, circa 1930 Expert remark: Compare the related form and subject, depicting an elderly man with a young boy on each side, and the closely related manner of painting. Note the different material and the size (6.5 cm). Note that while this bottle also shows the signature of Ye Zhongsan, it is not firmly attributed to the artist. Due to length restriction on Drouot this entry is shortened. For full description please visit www.zacke.at.