Page 62 - September 21 2021 MAnfred Arnold Collection snuff bottles Bonhams NYC

441
AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE The subject of three goats (or sheep) and a rising sun was employed
Ma Shaoxuan in the decorative arts from at least the Ming dynasty; the Xuande
Signed and dated jiyou year, corresponding to 1909 Emperor (1426-35) is known to have executed a painting of the
Painted on one main face with three goats beneath a willow tree subject, but according to Therese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings
and the sun, and the reverse side with a forty-character inscription in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006, p. 146,
preceded by the date and followed by the signature and seal 6.16.1, did not gain prominence until the Qianlong period.
Shaoxuan; stopper. No distinction is made in Chinese between sheep and goats, yang,
2 3/8in (6cm) high the collective name for sheep, rams, lambs, ewes, and goats is a
homophone of yang, the male principle or positive force. Therefore
$3,000 - 5,000 the depiction of three goats or sheep, sanyang, along with a rising
sun, taiyang form the rebus ‘the new year brings a change of fortune’,
己酉年（1909） 馬少宣 玻璃内畫「三羊開泰」圖鼻煙壺 sanyang kaitai.

Provenance: For another Ma bottle of the same subject painted in 1903, see lot 435
Sotheby’s, London, 5 December 1983, lot 199 in this sale.

Exhibited:
International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society Convention, New York, 5-9
November 2013, no. 35

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