AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS ‘CAT’ SNUFF BOTTLE, BY WANG XISAN, CHINA, DATED 1959

Expert’s note:
Between 1958 and 1962, Wang Xisan often used a simplified form of the character ‘Xi’ in his signature. From 1963 onwards, he used the traditional form of this character. The artist’s early works are exceedingly rare. For more snuff bottles painted by Wang Xisan from 1959 to 1962, signed with a simplified ‘Xi’ character, see Wang Ziyong, 60 Years of Wang Xisan's Art Life, Hebei Fine Arts Publishing House, pages 14-15 and 21-23.

The flattened globular body raised on a short oval foot and surmounted by a cylindrical neck with flat lip, the shoulders well carved with lion masks suspending mock ring handles in high relief. Masterfully painted to one side with a cat in a rocky landscape amid blooming narcissus. The other side with a prancing cat chasing two butterflies.


Inscriptions:
To one side, signed ‘Wang Xisan’ and dated ‘jihai nian zhongdong’ (mid-winter of 1959). One red seal.


Provenance
: From a private collection in San Diego, California, USA.

Condition
: Very good condition with only minor wear, expected manufacturing irregularities, and few minuscule nicks.

Stopper: Finely carved coral with chilong decoration, most likely matching
Weight: 62.9 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 66 mm. Diameter neck 15 mm and mouth 8 mm.


Born in 1938, Wang Xisan (Wang Ruicheng)
was the star pupil of Ye Bengqi, the son of Ye Zhongsan, the artist who revitalized the Beijing school of painting in the late 1950s. Ye Bengqi took up the art of enameling again in the early 1960s to teach Wang Xisan, and with earlier Wang Xisan bottles, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish them from his teacher’s, or, in some cases, from earlier Qianlong examples. For a discussion on the artist Wang Xisan see H. Moss, V. Graham and K.B. Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, the Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 6, Part 1, Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 273-275. The authors note: “As an artistic genius, Wang rapidly became one of the finest of all enamellers, both artistically and technically, that China has ever produced”.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 19 March 2018, lot 8000
Price: USD 25,000 or approx.
EUR 28,000
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An inside painted crystal snuff bottle, Wang Xisan, 1972
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and form. Note that this bottle is a later version of the present lot and that it is made from crystal. Also note the similar stopper.




1959
年王習三款玻璃內畫《貓》鼻煙壺


扁平壺，平唇，圓柱形頸部，削肩，肩部獅面啣環輔首，腹下收斂，橢圓形圈足。壺內一面內畫一隻貓在盛開的水仙花旁休憩； 另一面有一隻在追逐兩隻蝴蝶的貓，刻畫得生動活潑。


專家注釋：
1958年至1962年間，王習三的簽名中經常使用簡化的“習”字。 從1963年起，他一直使用繁體字。這位元藝術家的早期作品極為罕見。更多王習三1959年至1962年使用簡體字“習”字的鼻煙壺，參見王自勇《王習三內畫情緣60年》，河北美術出版社，第14-15頁和第21-23頁。


款識：
己亥年仲冬，京都王習三；紅印一枚


來源：
美國加州聖地亞哥私人收藏。

品相：
狀況極好，只有輕微磨損、製造不規則以及一些微小的刻痕。

壺蓋：珊瑚雕螭龍紋，應爲原配
重量：62.9 克
尺寸：含壺蓋高 66 毫米，頸部直徑15 毫米，以及壺口直徑 8 毫米。


王習三
，原名王瑞成，生於1938年，是五十年代後期振興京畫的葉仲三之子葉菶祺的得意門生。二十世紀六十年代初期，葉菶祺再次學習琺瑯工藝，並教授王習三，有時很難將他倆的作品與早期的乾隆時期鼻煙壺區分開來。有關藝術家王習三的討論，請參閱 H. Moss、V. Graham 和 K.B. Zeng《中國鼻煙壺珍寶，瑪麗和喬治布洛赫收藏》，第6卷 ，第 1 部分，香港，2008 年，第 273-275 頁。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約邦瀚斯，2018年3月19日，lot 8000
價格：USD 25,000（相當於今日
EUR 28,000
）
描述：1972年王習三内畫水晶「狸奴」鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較非常相近的主題和外形。請注意此鼻煙壺較現拍品晚，但是是由水晶製成。請注意壺蓋相似。