AN IRON RED PORCELAIN ‘ZHONG KUI’ SNUFF BOTTLE, 19TH CENTURY China. Of pear shape, rising from an oval foot ring to a long tubular neck, depicting two manifestations of Zhong Kui, one as the Demon Queller, wielding his sword with a bat in flight, the other as scholar, painted in iron red with black and gilt details above the glaze.

Provenance: French trade.
Condition: Good condition with little wear, light surface scratches, some manufacturing irregularities such as dark spots and open bubbles.

Stopper: Coral stopper with incised metal mounting, carved spoon
Weight: 32 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 80 mm. Diameter neck 11 mm and mouth 8 mm.

This piece depicts Zhong Kui, the legendary scholar who committed suicide on the steps of the Imperial Palace after being deprived of holding the title for passing the civil service examinations. After returning to the mortal world to save Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) from the evil spirits and ghosts plaguing his sleep, he was posthumously restored to his rightful position, and given the sobriquet ‘Demon Chaser’. Porcelain snuff bottles with iron red decorations of Zhong Kui were popular in the middle of the nineteenth century. See Michael C. Hughes ‘The Blair Bequest, Chinese Snuff Bottles From the Princeton University Art Museum’, pp. 224-225.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related iron red ‘Zhong Kui’ snuff bottle, dated to the 19^th century, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in Snuff Bottles from the Tuyet Nguyet and Stephen Markbreiter Collection Part II on 3 December 2021, lot 1082, sold for HKD 8,190.

十九世紀汎紅釉鍾馗鼻烟壺
中國，梨形壺，長頸，圈足。描繪了鍾馗的兩種表現形象，一種為驅魔人，揮舞著劍；另一種為書生。汎紅色釉，加以黑色和細節描金。

來源：法國私人收藏。
品相：狀況良好，少量磨損，表面有輕微劃痕，有些製造瑕疵，如黑點和開放氣泡。

壺蓋：珊瑚壺蓋，包金屬，雕刻小勺
重量：32 克
尺寸：含壺蓋高80 毫米；頸部直徑11 毫米，唇部直徑8 毫米

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近鍾馗珊瑚紅鼻烟壺，十九世紀，見香港蘇富比Snuff Bottles from the Tuyet Nguyet and Stephen Markbreiter Collection Part II 2021年12月3日 lot 1082, 售價HKD 8,190。