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拍品專文
An Exceptionally Rare and Auspicious Imperial Double-gourd Snuff Bottle
Rosemary Scott, Senior International Academic Consultant
The deep red background on this extremely rare snuff bottle is one which clearly held a great attraction for the Qing emperors, despite the infrequency of its application. As early as the Kangxi reign it was used on rare vessels which were decorated with enamels applied directly to their biscuit-fired bodies, such as the Kangxi yuzhi -marked vase in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose, vol. 39, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, pp. 2-3, no. 1). Rich rouge red grounds can also be seen on a small number of imperial enamelled porcelain vessels of the Yongzheng reign, such as the bowl with blossoming plum branches and bamboo against a deep red ground in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (illustrated in Special Exhibition of Ch’ing Dynasty Enamelled Porcelains of the Imperial Ateliers, Taipei, 1992, p. 50, no. 13). A similar use of the deep red ground combined with plum blossom can be seen on a Yongzheng imperial snuff bottle – copper with painted enamels – in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated by E.S. Rawski and J. Rawson (eds.), China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, p. 204, no. 101). In the Qianlong reign this rich red was used on some of the most highly esteemed imperial porcelains decorated at the imperial ateliers in the palace, such as the vase with flowers and butterflies on a sgraffiato red ground in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (illustrated by Rose Kerr on the cover of Chinese Ceramics – Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, London, 1998, and on p. 116, pl. 99).
This fine deep rouge ground came from enamels created at the imperial glass ateliers in the palace and would not have been available for use by private workshops. In 1696, the 35th year of the Kangxi reign, the emperor commanded that a glass workshop be built, and the Bavarian Jesuit missionary Kilian Stump (1655-1720, who took the Chinese name Ji Li’an 紀理安)
Chenyuan shilue (宸垣識略A Brief Introduction to the Imperial City, 1788) by Wu Changyuan吳長元 notes glass being made near the church in Canchikou 蠶 池口near the Xi’an Gate, inside the Imperial City. Scholars have speculated that in the Qianlong reign, the bolichang (玻璃厰glass factory) mentioned in the records was the original glassworks at Canchikou, which fired and blew the glass, and supplied blanks for decoration by the bolizuo (玻璃作glass workshop) in the Yuanming Yuan, which would have been involved in the production of highly refined pieces, under the close supervision of the emperor.
Not only was the deep red enamel itself precious, but the colour red was traditionally an auspicious one in China, being associated with celebration. Other aspects of the decoration on the current snuff bottle are also auspicious. Indeed, the double gourd form itself was an auspicious one. Amongst the Chinese aristocracy double gourds, also called bottle gourds, were a favourite symbol at New Year as well as on birthdays, since they represented abundance and fertility because of their many seeds, and also longevity through their links with Daoism. This double gourd-shaped snuff bottle includes vines with tendrils as part of the decoration. The combination of bottle gourd – hulu 葫蘆in Chinese – and vines and tendrils - mandai 蔓帶 – suggest the phrase ‘may you have numerous descendants’ 葫蘆萬代 hulu wandai. The decoration includes sprays of peach blossom and also sprays of nandina. The peach blossom suggests a wish for longevity, while the nandina, known in Chinese as tianzhu 天竹 ‘heavenly bamboo’ was often used at the New Year or on birthdays to provide a congratulatory greeting since it provided a pun for tian 天 ‘heaven’ and zhu 祝 ‘to congratulate’.
The ribbon or sash tied around the waist of the bottle is not simply a visually attractive decorative device, but also has auspicious meaning. The tied ribbon suggests the Chinese phrase shoudai綬帶 (literally the silk ribbon attached to an official seal or medal), which in turn suggests the Chinese character for longevity shou 壽. The application of tied ribbons around vessels of double-gourd form became especially popular amongst imperial wares in the Qianlong reign and can be seen on larger porcelain vases such as the Qianlong double-gourd vase decorated with red bats against a gold ground with a brocade ribbon tied around its waisted area in the collection of the Baur Collection, Geneva (illustrated by J. Ayers and M. Sato in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, Qing, Tokyo, 1983, pp. 106-7, no. 117), as well as cloisonné vessels such as the pair of Qianlong cloisonné enamel vases in the Uldry Collection (illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz in Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, no. 298). Tied ribbons were also applied to some vessels of un-waisted form such as the Qianlong painted enamel on metal lidded jar in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pp. 216-7, no. 109).
A snuff bottle from the Bloch Collection, which is of similar form and decoration to the current bottle, but bears a Guyue Xuan (古月軒 Ancient Moon Pavilion) mark on the base, is illustrated by Robert Kleiner in Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, London, 1995, no. 206. So-called Guyue xuan wares have traditionally been associated with particularly fine painting carried out in the palace workshops in Beijing. A few years ago, the location of the Guyue pavilion was identified in the south-western corner of the Changchun Yuan (長春園 Garden of Eternal Spring), built by the Qianlong emperor in preparation for his retirement, in an area called the Jian Yuan (鑒園Garden of Reflection), which was completed in 1767. It was in the literature relating to this garden that the Chinese architectural historians He Chongyi 何重義and Zeng Zhaofen 曾昭奮 found a reference to the Guyue Xuan (see Yuanming Yuan yuanlin yishu 圓明園園林 藝術, Beijing, 1995). It appears that the Guyue Xuan was a pavilion of five column’s width, which was located at the rear of the main hall in this garden.
It seems most probable that the current snuff bottle with its auspicious form, decoration and colouring was created by imperial craftsmen either to celebrate the New Year or to celebrate an imperial birthday.
Rosemary Scott, Senior International Academic Consultant
The deep red background on this extremely rare snuff bottle is one which clearly held a great attraction for the Qing emperors, despite the infrequency of its application. As early as the Kangxi reign it was used on rare vessels which were decorated with enamels applied directly to their biscuit-fired bodies, such as the Kangxi yuzhi -marked vase in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose, vol. 39, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, pp. 2-3, no. 1). Rich rouge red grounds can also be seen on a small number of imperial enamelled porcelain vessels of the Yongzheng reign, such as the bowl with blossoming plum branches and bamboo against a deep red ground in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (illustrated in Special Exhibition of Ch’ing Dynasty Enamelled Porcelains of the Imperial Ateliers, Taipei, 1992, p. 50, no. 13). A similar use of the deep red ground combined with plum blossom can be seen on a Yongzheng imperial snuff bottle – copper with painted enamels – in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated by E.S. Rawski and J. Rawson (eds.), China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, p. 204, no. 101). In the Qianlong reign this rich red was used on some of the most highly esteemed imperial porcelains decorated at the imperial ateliers in the palace, such as the vase with flowers and butterflies on a sgraffiato red ground in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (illustrated by Rose Kerr on the cover of Chinese Ceramics – Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, London, 1998, and on p. 116, pl. 99).
This fine deep rouge ground came from enamels created at the imperial glass ateliers in the palace and would not have been available for use by private workshops. In 1696, the 35th year of the Kangxi reign, the emperor commanded that a glass workshop be built, and the Bavarian Jesuit missionary Kilian Stump (1655-1720, who took the Chinese name Ji Li’an 紀理安)
Chenyuan shilue (宸垣識略A Brief Introduction to the Imperial City, 1788) by Wu Changyuan吳長元 notes glass being made near the church in Canchikou 蠶 池口near the Xi’an Gate, inside the Imperial City. Scholars have speculated that in the Qianlong reign, the bolichang (玻璃厰glass factory) mentioned in the records was the original glassworks at Canchikou, which fired and blew the glass, and supplied blanks for decoration by the bolizuo (玻璃作glass workshop) in the Yuanming Yuan, which would have been involved in the production of highly refined pieces, under the close supervision of the emperor.
Not only was the deep red enamel itself precious, but the colour red was traditionally an auspicious one in China, being associated with celebration. Other aspects of the decoration on the current snuff bottle are also auspicious. Indeed, the double gourd form itself was an auspicious one. Amongst the Chinese aristocracy double gourds, also called bottle gourds, were a favourite symbol at New Year as well as on birthdays, since they represented abundance and fertility because of their many seeds, and also longevity through their links with Daoism. This double gourd-shaped snuff bottle includes vines with tendrils as part of the decoration. The combination of bottle gourd – hulu 葫蘆in Chinese – and vines and tendrils - mandai 蔓帶 – suggest the phrase ‘may you have numerous descendants’ 葫蘆萬代 hulu wandai. The decoration includes sprays of peach blossom and also sprays of nandina. The peach blossom suggests a wish for longevity, while the nandina, known in Chinese as tianzhu 天竹 ‘heavenly bamboo’ was often used at the New Year or on birthdays to provide a congratulatory greeting since it provided a pun for tian 天 ‘heaven’ and zhu 祝 ‘to congratulate’.
The ribbon or sash tied around the waist of the bottle is not simply a visually attractive decorative device, but also has auspicious meaning. The tied ribbon suggests the Chinese phrase shoudai綬帶 (literally the silk ribbon attached to an official seal or medal), which in turn suggests the Chinese character for longevity shou 壽. The application of tied ribbons around vessels of double-gourd form became especially popular amongst imperial wares in the Qianlong reign and can be seen on larger porcelain vases such as the Qianlong double-gourd vase decorated with red bats against a gold ground with a brocade ribbon tied around its waisted area in the collection of the Baur Collection, Geneva (illustrated by J. Ayers and M. Sato in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, Qing, Tokyo, 1983, pp. 106-7, no. 117), as well as cloisonné vessels such as the pair of Qianlong cloisonné enamel vases in the Uldry Collection (illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz in Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, no. 298). Tied ribbons were also applied to some vessels of un-waisted form such as the Qianlong painted enamel on metal lidded jar in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pp. 216-7, no. 109).
A snuff bottle from the Bloch Collection, which is of similar form and decoration to the current bottle, but bears a Guyue Xuan (古月軒 Ancient Moon Pavilion) mark on the base, is illustrated by Robert Kleiner in Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, London, 1995, no. 206. So-called Guyue xuan wares have traditionally been associated with particularly fine painting carried out in the palace workshops in Beijing. A few years ago, the location of the Guyue pavilion was identified in the south-western corner of the Changchun Yuan (長春園 Garden of Eternal Spring), built by the Qianlong emperor in preparation for his retirement, in an area called the Jian Yuan (鑒園Garden of Reflection), which was completed in 1767. It was in the literature relating to this garden that the Chinese architectural historians He Chongyi 何重義and Zeng Zhaofen 曾昭奮 found a reference to the Guyue Xuan (see Yuanming Yuan yuanlin yishu 圓明園園林 藝術, Beijing, 1995). It appears that the Guyue Xuan was a pavilion of five column’s width, which was located at the rear of the main hall in this garden.
It seems most probable that the current snuff bottle with its auspicious form, decoration and colouring was created by imperial craftsmen either to celebrate the New Year or to celebrate an imperial birthday.