AN INSIDE-PAINTED SMOKEY CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE BY YE BENGQI, CHINA, 1920-1940
Of flattened form, the rounded rectangular body supported on a thick foot and surmounted by a short cylindrical neck. Delicately painted in a crisp color palette with a bird about to land on a lychee branch to one side and a long-tailed bird resting and singing on a peach bough to the other.


Inscriptions
: To one side, signed ‘Ye Bengqi’. One seal.


Provenance:
Collection of Maria and Johannes Nickl, thence by descent in the same family. The base with an old collector’s label, ‘5’. Maria (1926-2022) and Johannes Nickl (d. 2020) lived in Vienna, Austria, and were ardent collectors of Asian, Buddhist, and Egyptian works of art. They were highly active in Vienna’s tightknit Asian art trade and assembled most of their collection during the 1980s and 1990s, frequently buying from Galerie Zacke and later Galerie Asboth. The couple were also noted museum patrons and their names are still found on the Ehrentafel (‘Roll of Honor’) of the Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Museum of Fine Arts Vienna) today.

Condition:
Very good condition with minor wear and expected manufacturing irregularities, two tiny nibbles to the edge of the foot.

Stopper: Jadeite
Weight: 53.8 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 66 mm, Diameter neck 18 mm and mouth 6 mm


Ye Bengqi
was the son of the famous snuff bottle painter Ye Zhongsan (1875-1945) and the artist who revitalized the Beijing school of painting in the late 1950s. After World War 2, Ye Bengqi took on Wang Xisan (born 1938) as his student.


Literature comparison:

For another stylistically similar bottle signed Ye Zhongsan, see Lilla S. Perry, Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Adventures and Studies of a Collector, 1960, pp. 135-37, no. 131.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 12 September 2018, lot 618
Price: USD 5,250 or approx.
EUR 5,900
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An inside painted crystal snuff bottle, attributed to Ye Benqi, 1920-1940
Expert remark: Compare the related style of painting and color palette. Note that this bottle is signed Ye Zhongsan but attributed to Ye Benqi.




1920-1940年葉蓁祺款內畫煙晶鼻煙壺

扁平瓶，平口，圓柱形頸，削肩，橢圓形圈足。內畫，一面為飛向荔枝樹枝頭的小鳥，另一面則是一隻在桃樹枝上停留的喜鵲。


款識：
葉菶祺作


來源：
Maria 與Johannes Nickl收藏，在同一家族保存至今。底部有藏家舊標簽，上可見 ‘5’。Maria 與Johannes Nickl收藏，購於上述藝廊，在同一家族保存至今。隨附一份於1996年10月30日由 Zacke藝廊出局的原始賬單複印件，收件人為Nickls，當時價格為 ATS 7,000 （根據通貨膨脹約為
EUR 900
）。Maria (1926-2022年) 與 Johannes Nickl (d. 2020) 住在奧地利維也納，是亞洲、佛教和埃及藝術品的熱心收藏家。他們在維也納的亞洲藝術貿易中非常活躍，並在 1980 年代和 90 年代收集了大部分藏品，經常從 Zacke 藝廊和後來的 Asboth藝廊購買。這對夫婦也是著名的博物館贊助人，他們的名字至今仍出現在維也納藝術史博物館（維也納美術博物館）埃及和近東藏品的 榮譽榜上。

品相：
狀況極好，有輕微磨損和製造不規則性，足部邊緣有兩個小磕損。

壺蓋：翡翠
重量：53.8 克
尺寸：含壺蓋高66 毫米，頸部直徑18 毫米，壺口直徑 6 毫米


文獻比較：

一件風格相同的葉仲三鼻煙壺，見Lilla S. Perry，《Chinese Snuff Bottles，The Adventures and Studies of a Collector》，1960年，頁135-37，編號131。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2018年9月12日，lot 618
價格：USD 5,250（相當於今日
EUR 5,900
）
描述：1920-1940年葉仲三仿葉菶祺內畫鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較相近的內畫風格和顏色。請注意此壺雖是葉仲三簽名，但是是仿葉菶祺