Page 33 - September 21 2021 MAnfred Arnold Collection snuff bottles Bonhams NYC
P. 33
421
A MINIATURE INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE This rather comical-looking scene appears to be unique in Ma’s
Ma Shaoxuan oeuvre. A large toad sits on a grassy bank and stares down at two
Signed and dated dingyou year, corresponding to 1897 small fish swimming near a lotus pad, above the toad hangs some
Of rounded rectangular shape, painted one main face with a toad large-leafed branches possibly with clumped hanging flowers. It is
and aquatic plants, the reverse with a well-written poetic inscription of difficult from the sketchily drawn leaves to guess at the species, which
twenty-seven characters with the signature, date and seal. is a pity, as it presumably forms part of a rebus, which might inform
1 3/4in (4.5cm) high us of the exact meaning of this otherwise amusing subject. The poetic
inscription on the reverse side mentions pine but does not appear to
$4,000 - 6,000 refer to the image of the toad.
丁酉年（1897） 馬少宣 玻璃内畫「池塘蟾聲」微型鼻煙壺
Provenance:
Dr. Mary Kaufman, New York
Robert Kleiner, 25 April 2013
Exhibited:
International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society Convention, Waldorf Astoria,
New York, 5-9 November 2013, no. 146
THE MANFRED ARNOLD COLLECTION OF CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES | 31
