A CYLINDRICAL TORTOISESHELL SNUFF BOTTLE, FORMERLY IN THE COLLECTION OF WU RANGZHI (1799-1870)
China, 19th century. The elegant yet traditional ‘Rouleau’ form, decorated in gilt with inscriptions, supported on a flat base, the conical shoulder rising to a narrow neck with a flat rim. The shell of caramel color highlighted with patches of dark chocolate and near-black tones. The base inscribed with a four-character collection seal.


Inscriptions
: To the body, ‘Shishenxuan cang’ (Collection of Shishenxuan); ‘Wu / Lu jing Lufu / Songmen Huxi / Yideng wudao / Wie ke bumi’; ‘Wu Rangzhi qingwan’ (Collection of Wu Rangzhi); ´Jue / li zhi wu wo / kong ya you xing / xin ying xian jue / si bu huang ning‘. To the base, ‘Jin Shi Cang Yin’.


Provenance:
From a Hungarian private collection.

Condition:
Good condition with expected old wear, minuscule nicks, light scratches, natural imperfections.

Stopper: Coral
Weight: 20.4 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 69 mm. Diameter neck 11 mm and mouth 5.5 mm


Wu Rangzhi (1799-1870)
, also known as Wu Xizai, was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and master seal carver. He developed the Wan School, originally founded by Deng Shiru, and frequently paired his own texts with rubbings of stelae and other carvings, demonstrating the range of possibilities available to artists inspired by the scholarship of the Stele School and its willingness to blend old and new forms.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Woolley & Wallis, London, 17 May 2016, lot 129
Estimate: GBP 5,000 or approx.
EUR 8,300
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Chinese tortoiseshell square-section snuff bottle, Qing dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related material and inscriptions, bearing the same three collector’s marks to the body (‘Shishenxuan cang’ and ‘Wu Rangzhi qingwan’) and the base (‘Jin Shi Cang Yin’). Note the different form and the size (8 cm).

This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.




玳瑁鼻烟壺，原爲吳讓之
(1799-1870)
收藏

中國，十九世紀。圓柱形壺，平底，鍍金銘文，削肩。 焦糖色，帶有深棕色和近乎黑色的色調。


款識：
悟：路經盧阜，松門虎溪。一燈悟道，為客不迷；覺：理知無我，空壓有形。心應先覺，思不遑寧；師慎軒藏；吳讓之清玩；金石藏印。


來源：
匈牙利私人收藏。

品相：
狀況良好，有磨損、微小劃痕和自然瑕疵。

壺蓋：珊瑚
重量：20.4 克
尺寸：含蓋高69 毫米，頸部直徑11 毫米，壺口直徑5.5 毫米


吳讓之
(1799-1870)
, 字熙載，清代畫家、篆刻家、書法家。包世臣的入室弟子。善書畫，尤精篆刻。少時即追摹秦漢印作，後直接取法鄧石如，得其神髓，又綜合自己的學識，發展完善了“鄧派”篆刻藝術，在明清流派篆刻史上具有舉足輕重的地位。吳煕載以篆書和隸書最為知名，在晚清書壇享有很高的聲譽。對後來的趙之謙、吳昌碩均有影響。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：Woolley & Wallis，倫敦，2016年5月17日，lot 129
估價：GBP 5,000（相當於今日
EUR 8,300
）
描述：清代玳瑁鼻煙方壺
專家評論：比較非常相近材質、款識，有同樣的三個收藏印。請注意不同的外形和尺寸 (8厘米)。