AN INSCRIBED RED-OVERLAY WHITE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE, ATTRIBUTED TO LI JUNTING, YANGZHOU SCHOOL, CHINA, DATED 1822

Expert’s note:
Although unsigned, this bottle can be confidently attributed to the master glass carver Li Junting, one of the most important and innovative of all Qing glass artists, also one of the very few we can identify by name. Li's bottles are among the finest of the low-relief works of the school he headed, believed to have been at Yangzhou, and this superb example is no exception. Dated Yangzhou bottles are rather rare, but have been recorded with dates between 1819 and 1822.


Inscriptions:
To one side on the shoulder, dated to the Year of Renwu (corresponding to 1822), and to the other side with the seal ‘Zhengye’ (good luck).

Of flattened spherical form, finely carved through the ruby-red outer layer to the milky-white ground to one side with two boys stirring a pot, above scattered sprigs, a tea kettle, and a cup, below an inscription on the shoulder giving the cyclical date, the reverse with a boy holding up a branch and kneeling beside a recumbent water-buffalo pulling a tethered melon, with butterflies hovering above and a seal Zhengye, the shoulders carved with fruiting double-gourd sprays.


Provenance:
Collection of Margaret Polak, California, USA. Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd., London, United Kingdom, 2007. A private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired from the above. A copy of the original invoice from Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd., dated 2 July 2007, confirming the attribution to Li Junting above, and stating a purchase price for the present lot of GBP 5,500 or approx.
EUR 13,000
(converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Margaret Polak was a passionate collector of Chinese snuff bottles. She wrote articles for the Journal of the ICSBS, and part of her collection was exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1991. In 2006, she gifted parts of her extensive snuff bottle collection to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Robert Kleiner (1948-2014) was an important expert of Chinese snuff bottles, beginning his long career at Sotheby’s in London. Along with Hugh Moss and Bob Hall, he became a key advisor to the Mary and George Bloch collection, and it was Robert who wrote and produced the very first catalog of their bottles.

Condition:
Pristine condition with only minor wear and minuscule manufacturing irregularities.

Stopper: Jasper
Weight: 23.7 g
Dimensions: Height incl. stopper 62 mm, Diameter neck 13 mm and mouth 7 mm


Literature comparison:

Compare a closely related snuff bottle attributed to Li Junting, illustrated in Hugh Moss, Victor Graham, and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 5, Glass, no. 1035. Compare two snuff bottles attributed to Li Junting from the J & J Collection, nos. 402 and 403, illustrated by Moss, Graham, and Tsang in The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, Vol. 2.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2002, lot 35
Price: USD 17,625 or approx.
EUR 27,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare and finely carved red overlay white glass bottle, Li Junting, attributed to Yangzhou, 1805-1825
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form as well as the near-identical colors, with ruby-red overlay on milky-white ground and similar manner of carving. Note the identical size (56 mm, measured without stopper).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 17 September 2008, lot 12
Price: USD 11,875 or approx.
EUR 15,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A finely carved red overlay white glass snuff bottle, Li Junting, attributed to Yangzhou, 1800-1840
Expert remark: Compare the related form, similar boy motif, and manner of carving. Note the size (59 mm) and the slightly different colors, not allowing as much sunlight passing through the bottle as the present lot.




1822
年涅白地套紅料鼻煙壺，揚州李均亭（傳）


長頸，溜肩，圈足。涅白地，套寶石紅色料。一面雕刻兩個男孩在玩耍，散落的小樹枝、一個茶壺和一個杯子；另一面是男孩舉著一根樹枝，跪在一頭臥水牛旁邊，拉著一個拴著的瓜，上面有蝴蝶盤旋，肩膀上刻著結果的葫蘆。


專家注釋：
儘管沒有署名，但這個鼻煙壺很可能出自大師李均亭之手。他是清代料器鼻煙壺藝術家中最重要和最具創新性的藝術家之一。他的鼻煙壺揚州淺浮雕作品中最精美的作品之一。有日期的揚州鼻煙壺相當罕見，但有記錄，日期在 1819 年至 1822 年之間。


款識：
壬午二月， 正可


來源：
美國加利福尼亞州Margaret Polak收藏；英國倫敦Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd.，2007 年；英國私人收藏，購自上述藝廊。 Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd. 於 2007 年 7 月 2 日開具的原始發票副本，確認拍品出自李均亭，並註明當前拍品的購買價格為 5,500 英鎊或約
13,000 歐元
（在撰寫本文時已根據通貨膨脹進行換算和調整）。Margaret Polak 是一位熱心的中國鼻煙壺收藏家。 她為《ICSBS 雜誌》撰寫文章，1991 年，她的部分收藏在新南威爾士州美術館展出。2006 年，她將部分豐富的鼻煙壺收藏捐贈給了舊金山亞洲藝術博物館。Robert Kleiner（1948-2014）是一位重要的中國鼻煙壺專家，他在倫敦蘇富比中國藝術部門度過漫長的職業生涯。他與Hugh Moss和Bob Hall一起成為Mary 與 George Bloch收藏的重要顧問，Robert撰寫並製作了他們的第一個鼻煙壺目錄。

品相：
原始狀態，只有輕微磨損和微小的製造缺陷。

壺蓋：Jasper
重量：23.7 克
尺寸：總高 62 毫米，頸部直徑13 毫米，壺口 7 毫米


文獻比較：

比較一件非常相近的李均亭鼻煙壺，見Hugh Moss，Victor Graham和 Ka Bo Tsang，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷5，〈Glass〉，編號1035。比較兩件李均亭款鼻煙壺，來自J & J收藏，編號402和403，見Moss，Graham和Tsang，《The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection》，卷 2。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2002年3月21日，lot 35
價格：USD 17,625（相當於今日
EUR 27,500
）
描述：1805-1825年揚州李均亭白地套紅料鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形、幾乎相同的顏色，白地套紅料，以及雕刻風格。請注意相同的尺寸 (56毫米，不含壺蓋)。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2008年9月17日，lot 12
價格：USD 11,875（相當於今日
EUR 15,500
）
描述：1800-1840年揚州李均亭白地套紅料鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較相近的外形、相似的童子主題，以及雕刻風格。請注意尺寸 (59 毫米) ，以及稍微不同的顏色，不相本鼻煙壺可以透光。