A MOLDED AND ENAMELED CICADA-FORM PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE, 1800-1850China, Jingdezhen kilns. The bottle molded in the round with realistic detail, the insect's eyes and legs painted in black, its wings in blue enamel and its thorax highlighted with brown enamel stripes.Provenance: From an old private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired in Shanghai and Hong Kong from the 1930s onwards, and thence by descent.Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and firing flaws, little rubbing to enamels.Stopper: JadeiteWeight: 44.6 gDimensions: Height incl. stopper 82 mm. Diameter mouth 7 mmThe cicada is a symbol of immortality because it has a long life cycle of up to seventeen years. It also became a symbol of extended youth and of happiness on account of its joyous chirping.Literatureparison:The group of molded porcelain cicada-form snuff bottles to which this example belongs first appeared in the early nineteenth century. For another very similar example from the Caretti Collection, see H. Moss, Chinese Snuff Bottles No. 5, p. 59, fig. 43. See other examples and versions in Chinese Snuff Bottles No. 4, p. 5, top, center; and R. Hall, Snuff Bottles IX, no. 8. The molded porcelain model may have evolved from jade cicada-form bottles which were popular at the Court during the eighteenth century. See Moss, Graham and Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle: The J & J Collection, nos. 7 and 8; and Moss, Graham and Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 1, Jade, nos. 58 and 59.Auction resultparison:Type: Near identicalAuction: Christie’s New York, 19 March 2008, lot 245Price: USD 9,375 or approx.EUR 12,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: An enameled molded porcelain cicada-form snuff bottle, Jingdezhen kilns, 1800-1850Expert remark: Note the size (7.5 cm), which is the same length as the present snuff bottle excluding the stopper.1800-1850年堆塑彩繪蟬形鼻煙壺中國，景德鎮。瓶身為蟬形，細節逼真，蟬的眼睛和腿塗成黑色，翅膀為藍色琺瑯，胸部則用棕色琺瑯條紋描繪。