A SPADE-SHAPE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE, QIANLONG MARK AND POSSIBLY OF PERIOD China, 1770-1860. Of flattened shape on a flat foot and waisted neck, painted in famille-rose enamels with iron-red and gilding details, both sides depicting a scholar with his attendant in scholarly pursuits, enclosed by a faux-bois border, the base with a six-character Qianlong mark.

Provenance: From the private collection of Tuyet Nguyet and Stephen Markbreiter. Tuyet Nguyet was the founder and chief editor of Arts of Asia. She married Stephen Markbreiter, an English architect, in 1959 and moved to Hong Kong to work as a journalist. Arts of Asia’s first regular edition appeared in 1971. In the magazine, Nguyet sought to combine authoritative content from major experts with detailed coverage of the Asian art market. Tuyet Nguyet was an early member of The International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, attending her first convention in 1973, and was later elected as an honorary member.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, some loss to the gilt, mostly on the lip.

Weight: 33 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 63 mm. Diameter neck 14 mm and mouth 7 mm.

Expert’s note: This bottle is somewhat of an anomaly among its peers, it being an example of exceptional quality even though it is from a time when the caliber of snuff bottles made in Jingdezhen in the so-called ‘Palace style’ was already on the decline, that is either during the last quarter of the 18^th or the first half of the 19^th century.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related famille rose porcelain snuff bottle, of heart-shape, also with Qianlong mark and possibly of the period, at Bonhams Hong Kong in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 28 May 2019, lot 180, sold for HKD 125,625. Compare also a related enameled porcelain snuff bottle, of heart-shape, with Qianlong mark, at Sotheby’s New York in The Joe Grimberg Collection Of Chinese Snuff Bottles on 14 September 2010, lot 23, sold for USD 16,250.


乾隆款或爲其年代粉彩人物場景鼻烟壺
中國，1770-1860年。扁平心形，侈口，縮頸，平足，粉彩描金，開光描繪文人場景。底足上汎紅釉“大清乾隆年製“六字款。

來源：Tuyet Nguyet 和 Stephen Markbreiter 的私人收藏。Tuyet Nguyet 是《Arts of Asia》的創始人和主編。1959 年，她與英國建築師Stephen Markbreiter結婚，並移居香港擔任記者。《Arts of Asia》第一期普通版於 1971 年問世。在該雜誌中，Nguyet 致力於將專家的權威內容與亞洲藝術市場的詳細報導相結合。Tuyet Nguyet 是國際中國鼻煙壺協會的早期會員，1973 年參加了協會的第一次大會，後來當選爲名譽會員。
品相：狀況極好，輕微磨損，鎏金部分磨損，主要在唇部。

重量：33 克
尺寸：含蓋高63 毫米. 頸部直徑14 毫米 及口部直徑7 毫米.

拍賣結果比較：比較一個相近的乾隆款粉彩心形鼻烟壺，或為乾隆年代，見香港邦翰思Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2019年5月28日lot 180, 售價HKD 125,625。比較一件相近的乾隆款粉彩心形鼻烟壺，見紐約蘇富比The Joe Grimberg Collection Of Chinese Snuff Bottles 2010年9月14 日lot 23, 售價USD 16,250。