A MOLDED AND CARVED ‘DRAGON’ FAMILLE ROSE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE, SIGNED LIQUAN, CHINA, 1853-1864
Of pear shape with a wide mouth, finely carved and molded and brightly enameled to depict a fierce five-clawed dragon in high relief with sinuous scaly body chasing a flaming pearl amid colorful swirling clouds. The base with a neatly painted iron-red four-character mark.


Inscriptions:
To the base, ‘Liquan zi zhi’ (made by Liquan himself).


Provenance:
Collection of John Ault. Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd., London, United Kingdom, 2005. A private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired from the above. A copy of the original invoice from Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd., dated 5 July 2005, confirming the dating above, and stating a purchase price for the present lot of GBP 4,250 or approx.
EUR 10,000
(converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. John Ault (d. 2014) was a British intelligence officer, novelist, and avid collector of Chinese snuff bottles. 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:
Very good condition with only minor old wear, few expected manufacturing irregularities, remnants of gilt around the mouth. The jade stopper with natural fissures.Some rubbing to enamels.

Stopper: Celadon jade
Weight: 72.5 g
Dimensions: Height incl. stopper 74 mm. Diameter neck 21 mm and mouth 11 mm


Expert’s note:
Only one other bottle with the mark “made by Liquan himself” has been recorded, see Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles, The White Wings Collection, 1997, number 81. Several near-identical bottles do exist, however, these are all molded only (and not additionally carved) and bear the mark Guangyao neizao “made in the official kilns”. It is likely that the whole series was made during the Taiping Rebellion (1853-1864), when the Imperial kilns and surrounding areas were under the control of the rebels, raising considerable problems of protocol in marking porcelains.
As Robert Kleiner explains, it is possible that Liquan was the director of the kilns during this time.
There is only one further molded and carved version known, but this one is signed Rongjing zuo (made by Rongjing), lacks the enamels, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum since 1883, and was illustrated by Helen White, Snuff Bottles from China, The Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, page 243, number 1. The signature on this bottle also lacks the term for “himself” which could mean that Rongjing may not have been as important as Liquan. It also seems likely that only the carved bottles bear the “made by” marks, while the more common molded bottles bear the official kiln mark.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 25 April 2004, lot 822
Price: HKD 95,600 or approx.
EUR 17,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A molded famille rose porcelain snuff bottle, 1851-1865
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and decoration. Note the ‘Guanyao neizao’ (made by the official kilns) mark and the size (60 mm). Also note that this is the more common, molded only version.




1853-1864年粉彩堆塑龍紋鼻煙壺，“子靜自製”款

梨形，廣口，堆塑精美，明亮琺瑯彩，描繪一條矯健的五爪龍，龍身蜿蜒，雲中戲珠。


款識：
子靜自製


來源：
John Ault 收藏；Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd.，英國倫敦，2005 年；英國私人收藏，購自上述機藝廊。隨附 Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd. 於 2005年 7 月 5 日開具的原始發票副本，確認了斷代，以及當時的售價為 4,250 英鎊或約
10,000 歐元
（在撰寫本文時已根據通貨膨脹進行換算和調整）。John Ault（2014 年去世）是一位英國情報官員、小說家和中國鼻煙壺收藏家。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：
狀況非常好，只有輕微磨損，壺口部周圍有鎏金殘留，壺蓋帶有天然裂紋。部分琺瑯有摩擦。

壺蓋：青玉
重量：72.5 克
尺寸：總高 74 毫米，頸部直徑21 毫米，壺口11 毫米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2004年4月25日，lot 822
價格：HKD 95,600（相當於今日
EUR 17,500
）
描述：1851-1865年官窯內造粉彩鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形和裝飾。請注意‘官窯內造’款和尺寸 (60毫米)。請注意這是更常見的、僅模製的版本。