A WHITE JADE 'POMEGRANATE' SNUFF BOTTLE, 18TH CENTURY
China. Well hollowed, the ovoid body supported on a short thick foot and rising to a tall cylindrical neck. Finely carved in low relief with a gnarled fruiting pomegranate branch with seeds both in the fruit and scattered between the veined leaves. The translucent stone is of a good white tone with a few icy inclusions.


Provenance
: The VWS Collection, acquired by the previous owner’s father (1890-1977) in China during the 1930s and thence by descent within the family. The base with an old collector’s label, ‘38.’ The VWS collection tells the extraordinary story of a family fleeing the Tsarist Empire in Russia. Their journey began in 1903 as the Chinese Eastern Railway, the eastern branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway, was completed. Fleeing, like others, a climate of political persecution and anti-Semitism, the family settled in Harbin, the most northerly city in China and started to develop its businesses from 1906 onwards. Like many others, they were attracted to this cosmopolitan place, then a major economic and cultural center in Manchuria, because of its large Jewish community. In Harbin, the father, a cultured, open-minded and multilingual man, felt at home and his early successes in business earned him respect. By 1932, he and his family were forced to flee again, following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and found a new home in Shanghai. From there, his businesses took him to Hong Kong, North America, and other Asian countries, where the family would remain for many years. They began collecting art in China during the 1930s and these artworks have remained with the family heirs ever since.

Condition
: Very good condition with minor wear, few tiny nicks, minuscule nibbles to mouth.

Stopper: Coral stopper
Weight: 53.8 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 58 mm. Diameter neck 10 mm and mouth 6 mm


Fruits and flowers encapsulating auspicious messages
were highly favored in the 18th century. The pomegranate was especially popular as it symbolized fertility, and the bursting flesh of the pomegranate, exposing its many seeds inside, symbolized the wish for a large family. As the Chinese character for ‘seed’ (zi) is the same as that for ‘son,’ the many-seeded pomegranate is viewed as a symbol for having multiple sons who are expected to continue the family line.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2019, lot 519
Price: HKD 150,000 or approx.
EUR 19,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white jade ‘flowers and butterfly’ snuff bottle, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century
Expert remark: Compare the related low relief carving. Note the size (6.5 cm).




十八世紀白玉石榴紋鼻煙壺


中國。掏膛良好，圓柱形頸部，丰肩，腹部下斂，橢圓形圈足。淺浮雕石榴果枝，雕刻生動，石榴果内可見石榴籽。半透明的玉石呈良好的白色，帶有一些絮狀物。


來源：
VWS 收藏，前主人的父親 (1890-1977)於上世紀三十年代在中國購得，保存在同一家族至今。每個碗上都有一個收藏舊標籤 ‘VWS’；一個碗上有標籤 ‘62’；法國古玩交易，購於上述收藏。The VWS collection收藏講述了一個家庭逃離沙皇俄羅斯帝國的非凡故事。他們的旅程始於 1903 年，當時西伯利亞大鐵路東部支線中東鐵路竣工。 和其他人一樣，為了逃離政治迫害和反猶太主義的環境，全家定居在中國最北端的城市哈爾濱，並從 1906 年開始發展業務。 像許多其他人一樣，他們被這個國際化的城市吸引，因為這裡有龐大的猶太社區，當時這裡是滿洲的主要經濟和文化中心。 在哈爾濱，父親是一個有教養、思想開放、會說多種語言的人，他早年在商業上的成功為他贏得了尊重。 1932 年，日本入侵滿洲後，他和家人再次被迫逃離，並在上海找到了新家。 從那裡開始，他的生意將他帶到了香港、北美和其他亞洲國家，他的家人在那裡待了很多年。 他們於 1930 年代開始在中國收藏藝術品，這些藝術品自此一直由家族繼承人保管。

品相：
狀況極好，有輕微磨損，少量小刻痕，壺口有微小的咬痕。

壺蓋：珊瑚
重量：53.8 克
尺寸：含蓋高58 毫米. 頸部直徑10 毫米 壺口直徑6 毫米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2019年11月28日，lot 519
價格：HKD 150,000（相當於今日
EUR 19,000
）
描述：清十八至十九世紀白玉花蝶紋鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較相近的下半部浮雕。請注意尺寸 (6.5厘米)。