81 - A BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN ‘JIXI TANG’ LANDSCAPE SNUFF BOTTLE JINGDEZHEN, 1800-1860

A BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN ‘JIXI TANG’ LANDSCAPE SNUFF BOTTLE JINGDEZHEN, 1800-1860 To Be Sold Without Reserve Of cylindrical form with a narrow cylindrical neck and recessed circular foot, painted with a continuous mythological scene showing two men standing atop a fortified gateway at a pass through the mountains, on which is inscribed Sizhou cheng (City of Four regions), overlooking a landscape with water and clouds, on one of which a female deity floats, holding a vase, while in the waters beneath another probably female deity rides a bamboo raft, holding a flag and with vapour emerging from her mouth in which an object or creature floats, attended by partially naked attendants in the water one of whom has a fish on his back and a staff in each hand, while two more in front of the raft hold two swords and two drumsticks, the foot inscribed in underglaze-blue regular script Jixi Tang (`The bright countenance Hall’) Height: 8.3cm Provenance: Sotheby’s, New York, 17th September 1996, lot 164 Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd, 26th September 1996, (a copy of the original invoice available) The Jixi Tang is not recorded as having been adopted by any noted Qing scholar, although the combination Jixi was used by two Ming literati. However, if it was used in the Ming dynasty it would probably have been adopted by someone in the Qing who, in this case, was not otherwise famous enough to have warranted record. In this case it was probably the Hall name of the man for whom the bottle was made, although it might have been a name adopted by the manufacturer. Another bottle in the Sotheby’s sale has the same mark (lot 128, decorated with dragons) and a third, in famille-rose enamels with a military figure is inscribed with the same hall mark in iron-red enamel in Geng Baochang and Zhao Binghua, Zhongguo biyanhu zhenshang, Beijing, 1992, no. 168 Ω This Lot was imported outside of the UK, under the Temporary Admission scheme. 5% import VAT will be charged on the ‘hammer’ price and 20% VAT will be charged on the ‘buyer’s premium’. If proof of export outside of the UK can be provided for this item within 3 months of the sale date, then the VAT can be refunded. Please contact us for further details and shipping advice