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Bottle ID: 00480
TURQUOISE W/BLACK & CINNABAR OVERLAY, HORSES
Date: 1780-1850
Height: 61 mm
Glass, of flattened tapering shield shape with sloping shoulders, with a double overlay of black over cinnabar-red on an opaque turquoise ground, and carved with a continuous scene of the Eight Horses of Mu Wang, in frolicking positions, on one side under a black-trunked pine tree under a red moon, the other side with a red-trunked leafy tree under a red sun, the ground carved in low relief with scrolling clouds enveloping the neck and shoulders beneath the overlaid red mouth, and with rockwork towards the black and red footrim.
Attributed to Yangzhou.
Similar Examples:
Hughes, Michael C. The Blair Bequest - Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Princeton University Art Museum, 2002, p. 154, no. 193.
Low, Denis S. K. More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, 2002, p. 170, no. 158.
Provenance:
Asian Art Studio
Exhibited:
Annual Convention ICSBS Toronto, October 2007
Published:
JICSBS, Autumn 2004, Front and Back Cover
This stunning bottle from the Yangzhou School of carving uses a known but rare color combination for this school. In this example, the two overlay colors of opaque red and opaque black are used to highlight the horses making the overall design very clear. The difficulty of carving eight horses in different frolicking positions on a small surface area should not be underestimated and close examination of this bottle reveals just how skilled the carver was. Not only are the overlay colors used in the design but are also used in the ground color at the shoulders and further down the bottle to give the setting some perspective. Another feature of this stellar bottle is the 'wavy' footrim, although this is not unusual for the Yangzhou School as a whole. Stylistically, this bottle is clearly from the Yangzhou School with its naturalistic pictorial subject matter, scrolling clouds, and depiction of the sun and moon.
Approximately one-third of Yangzhou School bottles have an inscription or seal, which is either the name of a pavilion, or a 'title', or simply a reference to the bottle itself such as one example which has the carved inscription "eight swift steeds". This is a clear reference to the Eight Horses of Mu Wang, illustrating that the carvers considered this an appropriate subject matter for the highest level of carving within the Yangzhou School.