A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER ‘PHOENIX’ SNUFF BOTTLE, PROBABLY IMPERIAL, CHINA, 1780-1860
Of compressed form with flat lip and recessed, convex oval foot surrounded by a foot rim, finely carved in high relief with a flying phoenix amidst clouds on both sides, the narrow sides carved with elongated rocky promontories, the neck with a band of pendent acanthus leaves, the upper neck and base with plain borders.


Provenance:
Galerie Max, Brussels, 19 February 1966 (according to an ancient family ledger inspected by Cabinet Portier, Paris, France, during their appraisal of the complete de Strycker estate; this ledger remains in the possession of the de Strycker family and may not be copied). Collection of Robert and Isabelle de Strycker, acquired from the above and thence by decent in the same family. Robert de Strycker (1903-1968) was a French engineer who specialized in metallurgy. He was a Stanford graduate, a professor at the University of Leuven, a director of the Institute of Metallurgy at the Université Catholique de Louvain, and one of the most influential members of the faculty of applied sciences. After World War II, he made large contributions to France’s post-war recovery. Robert and his wife Isabelle (1915-2010) first encountered Chinese art at the British Museum during a stay in London in the 1930s. Enamored with the style and beauty, they both decided to study and collect Chinese works of art. In 1938 they eventually began to build their collection, buying from Belgian, Parisian, and English dealers. They kept close contact with the famous English collector Sir Harry Garner (1891-1977) and noted Czech collector and expert Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976). In 1964, the couple lent 174 objects from their collection to the Belgian city of Leuven’s museum for an exhibition titled Oude kunst in Leuvens Privébezit (‘Old Art in Private Collections in Leuven’), and in 1967 they lent around thirty Japanese objects to the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels for their exhibition Kunst van Japan im belgischen Privatverzameingen (‘Japanese Art in Belgian Private Collections’).

Condition:
Good condition with minor wear, expected small age cracks, bubbling around the rim, minuscule nicks, and few tiny losses. The stopper lost.

Weight: 50.9 g
Dimensions: Height 64 mm, Diameter neck 15 mm and mouth 6 mm


Expert’s note:
This is one of a series of cinnabar lacquer snuff bottles of a distinctive style and may be the mid-Qing continuation of a well-known, eighteenth-century imperial group. The subject of the phoenix (fenghuang) as the main decoration, making it emblematic as opposed to representing any particular myth in which the bird may figure, suggests that it was made for the Court, since this bird came, by the Qing dynasty, to represent the Empress.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Near identical
Auction: Christie’s New York, 17 September 2008, lot 82
Price: USD 8,125 or approx.
EUR 10,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A carved cinnabar lacquer snuff bottle, probably imperial, 1780-1880
Expert remark: Note the size (6.6 cm).




1780-1860
年剔犀鳳鳥紋鼻煙壺
，
或爲御製


平口，束頸，豐肩，壺身剔犀層層深雕雲中飛舞鳳鳥紋，頸部蕉葉紋。


來源：
比利時布魯塞爾 Max藝廊，1966年2月19日 (根據法國巴黎 Cabinet Portier 在對整個 de Strycker 莊園進行評估時檢查過的一份家族帳本所記載；該帳本仍由 de Strycker 家族所有，不得複製)。Robert與Isabelle de Strycker收藏，購於上述藝廊，在同一家族保存至今。Robert de Strycker (1903-1968) 是一位法國冶金工程師。他畢業於史丹佛大學，曾是魯汶大學教授，同時也是魯汶天主教大學冶金研究所所長，是應用科學學院最有影響力的成員之一。二戰後，他為法國的戰後復興做出了巨大貢獻。Robert與他的妻子Isabelle （1915-2010）於 上世紀三十年代在大英博物館首次接觸到中國藝術。因爲其風格和美感所吸引，他們決定研究和收藏中國藝術品。1938 年，他們開始建立自己的收藏，從比利時、巴黎和英國經銷商處購買。他們與英國著名收藏家Harry Garner爵士（1891-1977）和捷克著名收藏家兼專家Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976）保持著密切聯繫。1964 年，這對夫婦將他們收藏的 174 件物品借給了比利時魯汶市博物館，用於一場名為 Oude kunst in Leuvens Privébezit（“魯汶私人收藏中的藝術”）的展覽，1967 年，他們將大約30件日本藝術品借給了 布魯塞爾皇家藝術與歷史博物館的展覽 Kunst van Japan im belgischen Privatverzameingen（“比利時私人收藏中的日本藝術”）。

品相
：
狀況良好，有輕微磨損、預期的小年齡裂紋、輪輞周圍冒泡、微小刻痕和很少的微小損失。壺蓋遺失。

重量：50.9 克
尺寸：高 64毫米，頸部直徑15 毫米，壺口直徑6毫米


專家注釋：
這件風格獨特的剔犀鼻煙壺可能為清代中期御製。鳳凰具有象徵意義，在清朝出現在宮廷中。 代表皇后。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：幾乎相同
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2008年9月17日，lot 82
價格：USD 8,125（相當於今日
EUR 10,500
）
描述：1780-1880年御製剔犀鳳鳥紋鼻煙壺
專家評論：請注意尺寸(6.6 厘米)。