AN OFFICIAL SCHOOL ROCK CRYSTAL ‘GOLDFISH’ SNUFF BOTTLE, INSIDE-PAINTED BY YE ZHONGSAN (1875-1945), DATED 1926

Expert’s note:
This author has never before seen such a successful combination of Official School carving with inside painting. Note how the lapidary ingeniously incorporated the moss-green and honey-caramel inclusions in the carving of the algae and fish, respectively.

China, the bottle ca. 1750-1850, the painting dated 1926. The crystal body very well hollowed, of rounded rectangular form, rising from a short oval foot to a cylindrical neck with a flat lip. The yellow and green inclusions carved skillfully and in remarkably high relief to one side with goldfish and seaweed, respectively, the reverse carved in low relief with a figure standing below a towering rock with some bamboo. The translucent stone painted to the interior with catfish and goldfish swimming amid aquatic plants.


Inscriptions:
Top left, signed and dated ‘Ye Zhongsan in the Year of Bingyin [corresponding to 1926]’.


Provenance:
French trade, formerly with Bob Hall, London, United Kingdom. Robert ‘Bob’ Hall is one of the leading dealers of Chinese Snuff Bottles. He has played a vital role in the formation of many of the world's great collections, including the Mary and George Bloch Collection. His wide knowledge of the subject has enabled him to produce numerous publications and articles, such as his series Chinese Snuff Bottles I to XVI (1987-2011).

Condition:
The bottle with minor old wear, minuscule nibbles here and there, and expected natural inclusions, flaws and fissures, some of which may have developed into hairline cracks over time. The backside with a small blemish to the center, probably also a result of natural cracks which have expanded over centuries of usage. Please do thoroughly inspect all images available at www.zacke.at to see the condition details of this fine bottle.

Stopper: Stained organic material
Weight: 98.2 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 80 mm. Diameter neck 22 mm and mouth 8 mm.


Ye Zhongsan
, from about 1904 onwards, began to take advantage of what we may presume to have been a weakening market for old snuff bottles in the wake of the gradually dying interest in snuff in favor of smoking cigarettes and the political turmoil that attended the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901 and the collapse of the Qing dynasty, which would follow in 1911. We suddenly see a reasonable number of old agate and crystal bottles where the natural color shades in the material are imaginatively used as the basis for ink-play paintings. It is quite remarkable that it took until the turn of the century for any inside-painting artists to realize the potential in using such materials that were, after all, readily available and, it would seem, crying out for such treatment. It was Ye Zhongsan’s use from the early years of the last century onwards that defined this particular branch of the art, and it remained his prerogative throughout his career, being adopted only occasionally by other artists, including Zhou Leyuan. This again seems strange, since once the idea was established, we might have expected other artists to respond more enthusiastically to it. But of course such initial enthusiasm may well have been impeded by the increased challenge of integrating one’s personal artwork into an already existing natural and carved environment.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 22 June 2017, lot 164
Price: EUR 7,250 or approx.
EUR 8,500
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rock crystal snuff bottle
Expert remark: Compare the closely related combination of carved rock crystal with inside painting by Ye Zhongsan.




水晶内畫金魚鼻煙壺，葉仲三款，1926年

中國，鼻煙壺或爲 1750-1850年，内畫成於1926年。掏膛良好，圓柱躰頸部，橢圓形圈足。内畫描繪水草間嬉戲的金魚。外壁一面淺浮雕金魚海藻，另一面一個漁夫撐船於山岩下而過。石料具有獨特的天然內含物，猶如黑色水藻，藝術家將其精心融入到他描繪的水下場景。


款識：
丙寅仲秋葉仲三作


來源：
法國古玩貿易，之前為英國倫敦Bob Hall。Robert ‘Bob’ Hall是中國鼻煙壺的主要經銷商之一。他在世界上許多重要收藏的形成過程中發揮了至關重要的作用，其中包括Mary and George Bloch收藏。他十分瞭解鼻煙壺並撰寫了大量文章，例如他的系列《中國鼻煙壺 I 至 XVI》（1987-2011年）。

品相：
瓶子有輕微磨損，大面積微小的磕損，天然內沁、瑕疵和裂縫，其中一些可能隨著時間的推移發展成裂紋。背面中央有一個小瑕疵。詳情見 www.zacke.at 上提供的所有圖片，以了解此瓶的詳細信息。

壺蓋：有機材料染色
重量：98.2 克
尺寸：含蓋高80 毫米，頸部直徑22 毫米及壺口直徑8 毫米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：巴黎蘇富比，2017年6月22日，lot 164
價格：EUR 7,250（相當於今日
EUR 8,500
）
描述：1911年葉仲三水晶內畫游魚圖鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較非常相近的水晶雕刻與葉仲三內畫。