146 - AN IRON-RED ‘ZHONG KUI’ PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE IMPERIAL KILNS, JINGDZHEN, FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND PERIOD OF DAOGUANG, 1821-1850

AN IRON-RED ‘ZHONG KUI’ PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE IMPERIAL KILNS, JINGDZHEN, FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND PERIOD OF DAOGUANG, 1821-1850 To Be Sold Without Reserve Of compressed spherical form with a cylindrical neck, slightly convex lip and recessed, flat oval foot surrounded by a protruding, rounded, oval foot rim, painted on one main side with the deity Zhong Kui dressed as a scholar, holding a fan in his hand, a bat flying beside him and on the other side as the Demon Queller, wielding a sword, with two bats, the foot inscribed Daoguang nian zhi (‘Made in the Daoguang period’) in iron-red seal script Height: 5.7cm Provenance: Victor Topper Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd, 27th October 2000, (a copy of the original invoice available) Zhong Kui is a popular figure in later Chinese art. He became entrenched in Chinese mythology as the Protector Against Evil Spirits and was, therefore, frequently evoked in a superstitious society. According to E. T. C. Werner (A Dictionary of Chinese Mythology), legend has it that the Tang Emperor Minghuang (713- 756) fell ill with a fever while on a military expedition to Mount Li in Shanxi province. While feverish, he dreamed that he saw a small demon, fantastically dressed in red trousers, with a shoe on one foot and the other hanging from his girdle. He broke into the palace, and began to create mischief. The emperor grew angry and questioned him. ‘Your humble servant’ he replied, ‘is named Xu Hao (‘Emptiness and Devastation’). The emperor said he had never heard of such a person, to which the demon rejoined, ‘Xu means to desire emptiness, because in emptiness one can fly as one wishes; Hao, changes people’s joy to sadness.’ The emperor, annoyed by such flippancy, was on the point of calling his guards when in walked Zhong Kui who grabbed the mischievous demon, poked out one of his eyes, and ate it. When asked who he was, Zhong Kui explained that he was a physician from Zhongnan shan in Shanxi province and that during the reign of the Tang Emperor Gaozu (618-627) he was ignominiously rejected and unjustly defrauded of a first class in the public examinations. Overwhelmed with shame, he had committed suicide on the steps of the palace. The emperor, moved by the finality of his protest, ordered him buried with full pomp and ceremony in the green robes reserved for Imperial burials, and out of gratitude he had sworn to protect all future sovereigns in any part of the Empire against the evil machinations of the demon Xu Hao. At these words, the emperor awoke to find himself free of the fever and restored to full health. Another version says that Zhong Kui’s essay was recognized by examiners as equal to the work of the best authors of antiquity, but that the emperor rejected him on account of his extreme ugliness. When he committed suicide in his presence, he was then awarded the honour of an Imperial funeral, but either way he became forever associated with the quelling of demons. The characters, Zhong Kui, also have the same sound as those meaning ‘to crush demons.’ The legend of Zhong Kui began, as so many legends did, with a human who was deified after his death but from then on, the story was gradually embellished over the centuries and he acquired a sister, still in the human world. She was approached by her brother and informed that he had arranged for her to marry his old benefactor, Du Ping, which she was happy to do to repay his kindness to her and the benefactor’s kindness to Zhong Kui while alive, thus providing another popular subject of Zhong Kui marrying off his sister. Here, however, we see the deity in both his roles, as scholar and Demon Queller It is an unusual bottle mainly because of the use of the green enamel in combination with iron-red and black, the usual two colours if iron-red predominates 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