Page 71 - 2020 October 8 Snuff Bottles

The long inscription on one side of the bottle is an inscription found on 清 1890 年左右 黑漆錯銀絲「二千石公侯壽貴」
a bronze tripod vessel owned by the Northern Song dynasty statesman
Wen Yanbo (1006-1097), who was also a renowned archaic bronze 鼻煙壺（連漆錯銀絲「延年」鼻煙碟）
collector. The inscription records a nobleman named Wu selecting
auspicious metal to make a drinking tripod, which would give him 來源
unlimited longevity and his descendants were to treasure and use this Arthur Loveless
vessel infinitely. Wen Yanbo’s ownership of this bronze vessel was
recorded by the Song dynasty text on epigraphy Guangchuan shuba Elizabeth and Ladislas Kardos
written by Song You, a connoisseur active around the late Northern 瑪麗及莊智博鼻煙壺珍藏，香港邦瀚斯，2010 年 11 月 23 日，
Song dynasty. 拍品 134 號
The shorter inscription is probably from a Han-dynasty brick. A brick 碟：Robert Hall，倫敦，1998 年 4 月
with a similar inscription was in the collection of the Qing-dynasty
Yixing master Chen Hongshou (see Ruan Yuan, Liang Zhe jinshi zh, buyii 著錄
兩浙金石志 , 補遺 (1890), 1.8.). However, it lacks the number ‘two’ at the 壺：Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of
top. Perhaps the artist gave the lord a raise. Or, since we have not yet
located a picture of the original brick’s inscription, perhaps there was Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，
some element of it that the artist interpreted as a ‘two’. 卷 7，香港，2009 年，編號 1646
It should be noted that, although the cyclical date on this bottle 莫士撝、薩進德，《水松石山房鼻煙壺珍藏：第二部 鼻煙
probably refers to the year in which the bottle was made, it could be a 壺美術中所見皇宮風趣以外的因素》，香港，2019 年，編號
date that was on the original brick. 36.1.288
Junong is a relatively common courtesy name, and we do not have
enough information to identify the person to whom this bottle is 款識：惟正月初吉丁亥，王子吳擇其吉金自作㱃，其糜壽無疆子子孫孫
dedicated. 永寳用之
庚寅所作二千石公侯壽貴
印：吉、金

底款：菊農珍玩
壺上一面款識取自宋代董逌《廣川書跋》第三卷 < 王子吳㱃 > 記：「潞
國文公守京兆得鼎，其銘曰：『惟正月初吉丁亥，王子吳擇其吉金自作
㱃』，其糜壽無疆子子孫孫永寳用之。』書家考古謂無㱃，而㱃見三蒼，
知為鼎也。」潞國文公亦即北宋重臣文彥博（1006-1097），文同時為
著名金石收藏家。「二千石公侯壽貴」可能取自漢磚，如「庚寅所作」
是指鼻煙壺製作年代，那本壺可斷代至晚清庚寅年，即 1890 年。

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