Page 28 - Christie's Chinese Snuff Bottled the Holden Collection March 24, 2022

810
AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
SIGNED MA SHAOXUAN, CIRCA 1899-1900 See, also, H. Moss, V. Graham and K.B. Tsang in The Art of the Chinese
Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, Tokyo, 1993, pp. 693-694, no. 423,
Of rounded rectangular form, the bottle is decorated on one side with
for a crystal example where the authors note, "Huang Zhong (d. 220)
a portrait of the celebrated Beijing opera star Tan Xinpei as Huang
was a military figure who assisted Liu Bei (161-223) in establishing his
Zhong, wearing an elaborate dragon robe that is set on the shoulder
power in Sichuan, the State of Shu referred to in the last line of the
with banners. The reverse is inscribed with a poem praising Tan's
poem, when the Eastern Han (25-220) came to an end. In novels and
performance, followed by the artist's signature and a seal, Shaoxuan.
plays he has always been a popular character, playing the part of an
23 in. (5.9 cm.) high, glass and pearl stopper
aged general distinguished by his loyalty and valor. The ornamental
$25,000-35,000 'banners' worn on a general's shoulders represent the number of units
under his command."
PROVENANCE:
Bob C. Stevens Collection, no. 847.
The Bob C. Stevens Collection of Fine and Important Chinese Snuff Ma Shaoxuan's portrait bottles are amongst the most sought after of all
Bottles, Part II; Sotheby’s New York, 26 March 1982, lot 220. inside-painted snuff bottles and are unquestionably his finest works.
Rachelle R. Holden Collection, New York. The series of portraits he did of actors in particular roles fall into the
same category, but were usually repeated, as in the case of Tan Xinpei
EXHIBITED:
as Huang Zhong, quite frequently. There was likely a wider demand
Tokyo, Mikimoto Hall, An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles From The
for the depiction of famous Beijing Opera roles than for the portraits
Bob C. Stevens Collection, 22-31 October 1978, cat. no. 288.
of individuals. Despite this repetition, however, the subject, which
LITERATURE: is always exactly the same and was almost certainly taken from an
B. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, New York, 1976, no. 847. original photograph, is consistently superbly painted with careful and
R. Holden, Rivers and Mountains Far From the World - The Rachelle R. accurate detailing of the face. Ma was a master whose capacity for
Holden Collection, A Personal Commentary, New York, 1994, pp. 306-307, photographic accuracy inside a snuff bottle made his portraits both
no. 135. famous and sought after among the influential minority of his day.

It appears that of all the inside-painted bottles depicting half-length
1899-1900年前後 馬少宣作玻璃內畫譚鑫培京劇人物鼻煙壺
portraits of Tan Xinpei, there are only a few published examples where
his beard does not curve to one side, but falls neatly in a straight line, 來源:
as seen on the present bottle. Another, formerly in the Collection of Bob C. Stevens珍藏, 編號847
Bernice Straus Hasterlik, is illustrated by Ma Zengshan in Inside-Painted Bob C. Stevens珍藏重要中國鼻煙壺 (第二部分), 紐約蘇富比, 1982年3月
26日, 拍品編號220
Snuff Bottle Artist Ma Shaoxuan (1867-1939), Maryland, 1997, p. 43, fig.
何瑞秋珍藏, 紐約
18.
展覽:
東京御木本會館, 「Bob C. Stevens珍藏中國鼻煙壺」, 1978年10月22至31日,
For an almost identical bottle, differing only in the shape of the
圖錄編號288
beard and minus seven characters to the inscription on the reverse,
see R. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George 出版:
Bloch, London, 1995, pp. 646-7, no. 422. For a snuff bottle similar B. Stevens, 《鼻煙壺收藏指南》, 紐約, 1976年, 編號847
何瑞秋, 《Rivers and Mountains Far from the World - The Rachelle R.
to the Bloch example with a cyclical date of 1899, see the full-page
Holden Collection, A Personal Commentary》, 紐約, 1994年, 頁306-307,
advertizement for S.H. Mori in H. Moss, Chinese Snuff Bottles:5,
編號135
Middlesex, 1969, p. 137; another is illustrated by Emily Byrne Curtis,
Reflected Glory in a Bottle, New York, 1980, p. 82, no. 108.

26

document13283323126295017438.indd 26 2/17/2022 9:54:39 PM