AN INSIDE PAINTED CALLIGRAPHIC GLASS SNUFF BOTTLEMa Shaoxuan, dated 1898 Painted on both sides with five rows of calligraphy, with an excerpt of Liu Yuxi's, 'Loushi Ming', beginning with: "A mountain does not have to be high to have immortals A river does not need to be deep to have dragons", followed by an inscription, 'Made by Ma Shaoxuan in the winter month of the year Wuxu' with a seal 'Xuan', stopper. The bottle 6.4cm (2 1/2in) high. (2). Ma Shaoxuan is renowned for his calligraphy and more often than not one side of his bottles is devoted solely to it - often describing or alluding to the scene painted on the reverse. For a snuff bottle by Ma Shaoxuan with identical text, see, Robert Kleiner, 'Chinese Snuff Bottles, The White Wings Collection', page 275 no. 192. Provenance : Purchase from Robert Hall, 5th October 2005 Bob C. Stevens Published : Bob C. Stevens, The Collector 's Book of Snuff Bottles, No. 836 Friedman, Pamela, 'Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Pamela R. Lessing Friedman Collection', page 144 no. 120.