Page 23 - Bonhams Chinese Scholar's Art March 2014

8031
A reticulated porcelain snuff bottle
Wang Bingrong, 1820-1870
Of rounded rectangular form, the lip with a clear
glaze, the oval foot rim unglazed, the foot with
an inscribed four-character mark in seal script,
the body deftly carved with a single five-clawed
dragon amid deeply recessed clouds and flames,
the body with an even caramel-colored glaze,
the dragon’s eyes punctuated with black and
white enamels.
2 3/8in (6cm) high
$7,000 - 9,000

8032
An unusual inscribed porcelain snuff bottle
Zhou Honglai, Late Qing Dynasty
Of flattened ovoid form with a straight neck
and rounded lip and with an unglazed oval
foot rim, one face engraved with a figures in a
boat beneath a moonlit sky, with a dedicatory
inscription to Lianshu, signed Zhou Yanbin,
with an engraved seal reading Zhou, reversed
by the complete text of Su Shi’s (1037-1101)
First Prose Poem on the Red Cliff, 1082, and
signed Yanbin ke (Yanbin engraved) followed
by an engraved seal.
2 1/2in (6.4cm) high
$4,000 - 6,000

Zhou Honglai is considered to be one the finest 8031 (two views)
artists practicing micro-engraving at the end
of the Qing. However, the majority of his snuff
bottles are on white glass, rather than porcelain.
Other examples of his work on porcelain have
been illustrated in the J & J collection, and
Jutheau, Guide du collectionneur de tabatieres
chinoises, p. 95; also illustrated in G. Tsang and
H. Moss, Snuff Bottles of the Ch’ing Dynasty,
Hong Kong, 1978, no. 244. For a discussion of
his career and his works on bottles in glass, see
Moss et. al., A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles,
The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 5 ,
nos. 1049-1056.

8032 (two views)

Chinese Art from the Scholars Studio | 21