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539 Y Ф                                       Provenance                                        540
AN IMPERIAL CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL                  A distinguished European private collection       A RARE GILT AND IRON-RED ENAMEL
‘CHILONG’ SNUFF BOTTLE                                                                          SNUFF BOTTLE
AND STOPPER                                   The motif of two confronting archaistic chilong   Daoguang seal mark and of the period
Qianlong mark and of the period               enclosing a lotus amidst a profusion of           Lavishly gilded, with iron-red medallions
Superbly enamelled on either side with        Rococo-inspired leafy tendrils is quintessential  on either side enclosing a mountainous
two confronting chilongs in yellow and red    of the Qianlong period and similar designs        riverscape with a rustic cottage beside trees
with bifurcated tails amidst dense leafy      can be found on porcelain, see Treasures          and a bridge, sails in the distance, further
meandering stems and lotus flowers, between   in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of    highlights in gold, stopper, wood stand. 7cm
a band of pendant ruyi-heads and petal-       the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003,         (2 3/4in) high (3).
lappets, all reserved on a lavender ground,   pp.260-261.
the domed stopper similarly decorated with                                                      £2,000 - 3,000
a lotus bloom, with ivory spoon, wood stand.  For a related Imperial cloisonné enamel snuff     CNY17,000 - 26,000	 HK$20,000 - 30,000
6.7cm (2 5/8in) high (3).                     bottle with stylised dragons, dated mid-
                                              Qing, see H.Moss, V.Graham and K.B.Tsang,         Provenance
£3,000 - 5,000                                The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, New          A distinguished European private collection
CNY26,000 - 43,000	 HK$30,000 - 50,000        York, 1993, pp.444-445, pl.266. See also
                                              H.Moss, Snuff Bottles of China, London,           Richly gilt snuff bottles, such as the present
                                              1971, no.272. For similar examples with           lot, are exceptionally rare. The plain gilt
                                              original domed stoppers, see R.Hall, The          decoration with only two small round panels
                                              Snowy Peaks Collection: A Collection of           containing landscapes, allows one to fully
                                              Chinese Snuff Bottles formed by Pamela R.         appreciate the snuff bottle’s simple and
                                              Lessing Friedman, London, 2005, no.97; and        elegant beauty. A gilded porcelain snuff
                                              H.Brinker and A.Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The      bottle imitating metal is illustrated by Geng
                                              Pierre Uldry Collection, London, 1989, pl.364.    Baochang and Zhao Binghua, Zhongguo
                                                                                                biyanhu zhenshang, Hong Kong, 1992,
                                                                                                p.126, no.134.

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