English
中文
Bottle ID: 00155
SNOWFLAKE W/RED OVERLAY, SEAL SCHOOL, BATS, CRANE & SUN
Date: 1780-1850
Height: 54 mm
Glass, of rounded form with sloping shoulders, overlaid with red and carved on the bubbly-snowflake ground with on one side, two bats flying over rockwork, above a four-character inscription in ancient seal script reading 'Longevity as long as mountains, Blessings as great as the seas'; the reverse with a crane holding a stick in its beak, in flight above the sun rising above turbulent waves.
Attributed to Yangzhou.
Similar Examples:
The Crane Collection, nos. 129 and 910.
Kleiner, Robert. Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, 1999,
p. 152, no. 132.
Sotheby's, New York, September 14, 2010, lot 109, The Joe Grimberg Collection.
Provenance:
Clare Lawrence Ltd.
Robert Hall
Exhibited:
Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007
This is one of only four known Yangzhou School overlay bottles which uses a red color on a snowflake ground. The importance of this is discussed under Crane bottle No. 129. The above example is also exceptionally rare in that the snowflake ground has been used in the carving of the waves below the rising red sun.
One of only ten known examples with carved ground, this is the only one using a snowflake ground rather than a milk-white ground. This is not the result of a patchy uneven overlay but a deliberate transcending of the standard type. The use of incised decoration is also prevalent on these 'carved ground' examples but appears rarely, if at all, on other types of Yangzhou School bottles. Interestingly, the bottles which are carved to include the opaque white ground tend to be of a slightly creamier white color than the usual color. The majority of this group is carved with a red overlay color, but examples also exist with a blue or brown overlay color.
The level of artistry in the design of this very minimal bottle is outstanding, evoking a feeling of stillness with the crane, the bats and the sun all floating in the air, in contrast to the restless water below. Despite its sparse appearance, this bottle is loaded with symbolism; the crane symbolic of longevity and the rising sun (the sun at its most renewed phase) representing the Daoist notion of immortality.