Page 231 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013

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The auspicious subject of an elephant carrying a vase forms the rebus ‘taiping
youxiang (太平有象)’, which stands for ‘When there is peace, there are
signs’. Compare a related elephant example illustrated by B.C.Stevens, The
Collector’s Book of Snuff Bottles, New York and Tokyo, 1976, pl.308.

The combination of squirrel and grapes is a popular motif in the Ming and
Qing Dynasties, particularly in snuff bottles, porcelain and Yixing teapots,
which symbolises longevity and the wish for generations of offspring. A
similar example in the form of a squirrel can be seen in the Snowy Peaks
Collection illustrated by R.Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles XI: the Snowy Peaks
Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, pl.40. See also a similar ‘squirrel and grapes’
example illustrated by B.Stevens, ibid., pl.309.

194 Y ≈

A famille rose ‘Buddhist lion’ snuff bottle
Jiaqing seal mark and of the period
Well modelled in the form of a standing Buddhist lion with a ribbon-tied
brocade ball, the body depicted with precise details including its facial
features, limbs, curling mane, boss-decorated backbone and bifurcated tail,
brightly enamelled in blue, green, yellow, pink and red with its bulging eyes
picked out in black, jadeite stopper. 6.5cm (2½in) high (2).
£6,000 - 8,000
HK$71,000 - 94,000 CNY56,000 - 75,000

清嘉慶 瓷胎模製粉彩獅子繡球形鼻煙壺 礬紅「嘉慶年製」篆書款

Provenance: A European private collection and thence by descent

來源：歐洲私人收藏，並由家族繼承下去

Snuff bottles in the form of a Buddhist lion with a brocade ball, as in the
present lot, were popular in the Qing Dynasty, and examples are included
in well-known museums and private collections. See a similar example,
Daoguang, illustrated by R.Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles XI: The Snowy Peaks
Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, pl.47. Compare also an example of a lion
and cub snuff bottle, Qianlong, illustrated by R.L.Hobson, The Later Ceramic
Wares of China, London, 1925, pl.LXIX, fig.3. Another related example in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated by H.White, Snuff Bottles
from China: the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, London, 1992,
p.246, pl.114. A further example, dated to the late 18th century, formerly in
the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Neal Hunter, is illustrated by B.C.Stevens, The
Collector’s Book of Snuff Bottles, New York and Tokyo, 1976, p.103, pl.349.

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