Bottle ID: 798

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WANG XISAN, CRYSTAL, NATURE SCENE

Date: 1970

Height: 57 mm

A crystal snuff bottle, of elongated, rectangular form with shoulders sloping to a cylindrical neck and with an flat oval base, painted on the inside using ink and watercolors with on one main side, a bird perched on a magnolia tree gazing down upon two bees, the reverse with a dragonfly flittering above a blooming lotus plant next to an inscription with the date of the first month of summer of the gengxu year, with one red seal, the base inscribed in blue ink under clear varnish, Wang Xisan zuo (made by Wang Xisan).

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no.s 386 and 904

Provenance:

Christie’s New York, March 24, 2022, Lot 822 
Rachelle R. Holden Collection, New York 
Robert Kleiner, London, 1992

 

In 1996, the ICSBS annual convention was in Hong Kong and Beijing. Rachelle Holden took this bottle with her knowing that Wang Xisan was also attending. She confirmed with him that he had painted this bottle and asked him to sign it on the outside base. Some clear varnish was added to keep the signature safe from the elements.

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