Bottle ID: 122

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SCHOLARS' STUDIO

Date: 1750-1795

Height: 65 mm

Lac burgaute on wood, of flattened rounded form, with shoulders sloping to a waisted neck with flared mouth, and with a recessed oval footrim, inlaid on a dark brown lacquer ground within a vignette on each main side in mother-of-pearl, silver and gold foil, one side with a design of three vases of flowers on stands, one containing lotus flowers, leaves and pods, another with leafy peaches, the third with floral sprigs; the reverse with furnishings of a scholars’ studio, an incense burner on a stand on a pedestal, a bell hanging within a frame, a fan and a basket; the panels surrounded by a diaper pattern in diagonal contrasting tones, the neck with a geometric border, the base with an inlaid shou medallion. Original matching stopper.
Probably imperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no. 517
Hall, Robert. Chinese Snuff Bottles XI, The Snowy Peaks Collection, 2005, no. 115.

Provenance:

Clare Lawrence Ltd.
Robert Kleiner

Zhou Jixu writing in the late 19th century states that certain material groups of bottles, however well made they are, are not really suitable for snuff and includes in this list "ones made from bamboo roots, elephant ivory, tree burls, gold, silver, bronze or lac-burgaute". Quite why this last material is included in this list is not really clear unless the fragility of the inlaid elements on the outer surface was a problem when removing the bottle from a sleeve or handling it subsequently. Whilst later examples from Japan were produced on both metal and wood bodies, the earlier Chinese bottles were all made with wood bodies which would have kept the snuff reasonably moist. 
Very few examples can be attributed to China as most appear to have been made from the Meiji period onwards in Japan. The similar example given below is published as Chinese but in this author's opinion may be Japanese. The Crane example is also somewhat confusing as the possibility of it being Japanese cannot be ruled out.

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