AN IMPERIAL GUANGZHOU ENAMEL ‘LOTUS AND SHOU’ SNUFF BOTTLE, YONGZHENG MARK AND PERIODChina, 1723-1735. Of ovoid form, the short waisted foot and neck each with a flat gilt-copper rim. Finely enameled on a yellow ground with formal scrolling flowers and vines as well as a circular medallion with the character shou (longevity) between a bat and a neatly detailed lotus blossom. The neck and foot enameled with bands of formalized lotus petals and line borders. The concave base with a red-enameled four-character markYongzheng nianzhi and of the period.Provenance: Belgian trade.Condition: Fine conditionmensurate with age showing expected old wear and some manufacturing irregularities, rubbing to gilt, minor flaking to enamels, minute nicks to the copper alloy foot and lip. One small chip to the shoulder with an associated old repair. While the enamels are generally crisp and quite well preserved, the yellow background is somewhat faded.Stopper: Gilt bronze, possibly matching, good spoonWeight: 124.5 gDimensions: Height incl. stopper 100 mm. Diameter neck 15 mm and mouth 6 mmAs noted by Hugh Moss, “extant examples of Yongzheng painted enamels on metal are almost as rare as those surviving from the Kangxi reign. [...] Of all surviving marked enamels from the Yongzheng era (there are not many), more than half are southern.” Yellow-ground enamel on copper examples of this form and from the “southern” group, e.g. from Guangzhou, are rare and vary in decoration including designs of dragons, deer in landscape, and bats, lotus and Shou, as seen on the present bottle.The Imperial Enamel Workshop which was first established in Beijing by the Kangxi Emperor utilizing the knowledge of Jesuit priests and enamellers from Guangzhou, was producing enamel works since circa 1715 as attested to by a Jesuit priest, Father de Maille, see H. Garner, The Origins of Famille Rose, TOCS, vol. 37, 1967-1969, London, 1970, page 4. However, the most important Chinese craftsmen came from Guangzhou as shown in a Court memorial dated 1716 noting the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi sent two artisans to Beijing to serve in the Enamel Workshop, see Yang Boda, Tributes from Guangdong to the Ch'ing Court, Hong Kong, 1987, page 63. By the Yongzheng period, technical challenges were gradually ovee and the painting became more refined and controlled.This bottle exhibits the Guangzhou tendency to elaborate on Beijing decorative motifs in a novel manner. Although the subject of formalized flowers on a yellow ground wasmon to both the Palace workshops in Beijing and on Guangzhou wares for the court, the style was generally different. The standard northern style tended to be simpler and more powerful, while its southern counterpart was moreplex and ornate, often using a greater range of filling colors within outlined areas, such as scrolling vines and leaves.The lotus is a symbol of harmony in marriag