A FAMILLE ROSE PORCELAIN 'ELEPHANT' SNUFF BOTTLE, 1770-1790 Published:

1. Bob C. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, New York, 1976, pp. 98-99, no. 310.
2. An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles From The Bob C. Stevens Collection, Tokyo, 1978, p. 37, no. 65.
3. Holden, Rivers and Mountains Far From the World - The Rachelle R. Holden Collection, A Personal Commentary, New York, 1994, pp. 142-143, no. 58.
4. Bob C. Stevens, Collection of Fine and Important Chinese Snuff Bottles, Part I, 1981, no 60.

Exhibited:

1. Tokyo, Mikimoto Hall, An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles From The Bob C. Stevens Collection, 22-31 October 1978, cat. no. 65.

China, Jingdezhen kilns. Well-modeled in the form of a recumbent caparisoned grayish-pink elephant with an iron-red and gilt-decorated zun set atop its back on a saddle with a howdah decorated with the ying-yang symbol above crested waves, framed by a diapered gilt border. The gilt copper stopper decorated with five bats encircling a shou symbol with beaded border.

Provenance: From the collection of Bob C. Stevens, California. Sotheby's Honolulu, Fine and Important Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Bob C. Stevens, Part I, 7 November 1981, lot 60. Rachelle R. Holden Collection, New York, acquired from the above. Bob C. Stevens was an enthusiastic collector of Chinese snuff bottles who published an important book on the subject, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, in 1976. In 1978, a part of his collection was exhibited in Tokyo at Mikimoto Hall. Rachelle R. Holden (1934-2020) was a famous collector of Chinese snuff bottles. She purchased her first bottle in 1974, finding the subject fascinating as it combined all the classic forms of Chinese art, and would continue to passionately collect them for the rest of her life.
Condition: Fine condition with old wear, mostly to the gilt, and some manufacturing flaws. Minor old repair to mouth rim.

Stopper: Gilt copper stopper
Weight: 41.6 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 47 mm. Diameter neck 15 mm and mouth 6 mm.

A good many molded porcelain bottles from the mid-Qing period are of animal, vegetable, or figural forms, and many of these were not reign marked. Several of them would have been inventions of the late Qianlong, and this elephant is likely to be one of them, although an early Jiaqing date is equally plausible. Because of their auspicious symbolism, elephants were moderately common subjects in the Qing palaces. They are known from the eighteenth century in nephrite and from late in the Qianlong reign in imperial yellow glass; it seems highly unlikely that the emperor would not have thought of molding them in porcelain the moment the art form evolved to the point of producing free-standing animal forms.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25 May 2014, lot 1171
Price: HKD 93,750 or approx. EUR 13,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Famille Rose Porcelain 'Elephant and Vase' Snuff Bottle Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period
Expert remark: Compare the near identical form, and closely related design and enameling.



1770-1790年粉彩“太平有象”鼻烟壺
中國，景德鎮。器身塑造為臥象造型，造型生動，象頭俯臥向後看去，象牙前伸，周身裝飾得珠光寶氣，身上蓋著波上滾珠紋毯子，背上有鐵紅色描金尊。 壺蓋鎏金銅，飾五隻蝙蝠，圍成壽字。

出版：
1. Bob C. Stevens，《The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles（《鼻烟壺收藏手冊》）》，紐約，1976年，頁98-99，編號310。
2. An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles From The Bob C. Stevens Collection，東京，1978年，頁37，編號65。
3. Holden，《Rivers and Mountains Far From the World - The Rachelle R. Holden Collection，A Personal Commentary》，紐約，1994年，頁142-143，編號58。
4. Bob C. Stevens，《Collection of Fine and Important Chinese Snuff Bottles》，第一部分，1981年，編號 60。

展覽：
1. Tokyo，Mikimoto Hall，An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles From The Bob C. Stevens Collection，1978年10月22-31日，畫冊編號 65。

來源：Bob C. Stevens舊藏，加利福尼亞；火奴魯魯蘇富比，Fine and Important Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Bob C. Stevens，Part I，1981年11月，lot 60；紐約Rachelle R. Holden 舊藏，購於上述拍賣。Bob C. Stevens 曾是一位中國鼻烟壺知名收藏家，曾出版過一本書The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles（《鼻烟壺收藏手冊》），1976年以及1978年。書裏曾記錄過這件拍品。他的藏品的一部分曾在東京Mikimoto Hall（御本廳）展出過。Rachelle R. Holden（1934-2020年）是著名的中國鼻烟壺收藏家。 她於 1974 年購買了她的第一個鼻烟壺，從而發現了鼻烟壺其迷人之處，因為它結合了中國藝術的所有經典形式。之後，她持續不斷地收集鼻烟壺。
品相：品相良好，鎏金部分磨損較多，有製造瑕疵，壺嘴邊有小修補。

壺蓋：鎏金銅
重量：41.6 克
尺寸：高 （含蓋）47 毫米，頸部直徑15 毫米及壺口直徑6 毫米

清中期的陶瓷鼻烟壺有很多動物、植物或人物形狀的，其中許多沒有年號。其中有幾件是乾隆晚期的，而這頭大象很可能就是其中之一，儘管嘉慶早期的推測同樣可信。大象因其吉祥的象徵意義，在清代宮廷中備受推崇，從十八世紀的玉雕到乾隆晚期的御製黃料琉璃，眾所周知。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2014年5月25日，lot 1171
價格：HKD 93,750（相當於今日EUR 13,500）
描述：乾隆時期粉彩“太平有象”鼻烟壺
專家評論：比較幾乎相同的外型，以及非常相類似的設計和粉彩。