200 - A RARE ENAMELLED PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE JINGDEZHEN, 1810-1850

A RARE ENAMELLED PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE JINGDEZHEN, 1810-1850 To Be Sold Without Reserve The enamels attributed to Yixing, 1810-1850, of rounded rectangular form, with a cylindrical neck, convex lip and recessed, flat oval foot surrounded by a protruding, rounded, oval foot rim, painted on each side with an identical design of a pair of mandarin ducks in a lotus pond against a creamy-white enamel ground Height: 6.5cm Provenance: The Harriet Hamilton Collection, California Asiantiques, Winter Park, Florida Hamilton Coll. no. 123 Sotheby’s, New York, 27th March 2003, lot 309 Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd, 27th March 2003, (a copy of the original invoice available) Published: ICSBS Journal, Volume 4, December 1973, “Chinese Symbolism in Bottles,” p. 6, fig. 6. ICSBS Journal, (front cover) Autumn 2005, Volume XXXVII, Number 2 This porcelain bottle combines a typical shape and the typical material of Jingdezhen, the porcelain metropolis where the Imperial kilns operated, but is enamelled with the distinctive enamels used at Yixing on the local brown stoneware. It is the only known bottle of this combination, and the assumption must be either that a Yixing potter got hold of a blank from Jingdezhen and enamelled it locally, or that a Jingdezhen potter used Yixing enamels. The latter seems less likely, since the style of painting is also typical of Yixing rather than Jingdezhen The symbolism here may be interpreted in two ways, both based on the punning potential of the sound of one of the names of the lotus, lian. In the first instance, lian calls to mind a homonym meaning affection. Thus, this association enhances the idea of conjugal fidelity represented by the pair of ducks. In the second instance, the names of the lotus (lian) and the ducks (yazi) evoke the term lianjia which conveys a desire to be first on the list for the three-level (district, provincial and capital) civil service examinations in succession. The lotus is also generally auspicious, being a symbol of purity, growing as it does out of muddy water to produce a straight stemmed bloom. It is also associated with Buddhism Ω This Lot was imported from outside of the UK, under the Temporary Admission regime 5% import VAT will be charged on the ‘hammer” and 20% VAT will be charged on the ‘buyer’s premium