Hi Peter and Stan,
when I bought this, in a first moment I thought It could be imperial, for the detailed painting and the similarity with western style Qianlong bottles. But there is a writing on it, and faces looks a bit modern, so now I ask your help for an identification. Thank you!
H cm 5,9 with lid.
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Hi Pablo, your right the faces are all wrong for Qianlong or Qing dynasty, 20th century from the 60's on up.
Thank you Stan. But I have one more question. Some imperial snuff bottles made in Qianlong reign were painted by european jesuits, in a western style. In these cases can still be applied the rule of "face expression" alone?
Do you have a picture of the mouth? And you are sure it is porcelain and not white glass?
I just find it odd that the foot, including the rim, is fully glazed. If it was fired in a kiln it must have stood somewhere. The mouth might be a bit too small for that.
Hi Peter, yes, I'm sure It Is porcelain because the magnifier view shows the bubbles of a glaze. The mouth Is painted/enameled with gold, but viewing through the scrapes It seems there is no glaze below.
Pablo, old glass sometimes also contains many bubbles. We cannot rely on the bubbles alone. In the same way, some very old glazes do not contain bubbles. Did you try to have the bottle stand upside down? Is it stable?
All of you have mentioned points that need to be considered. I could not tell for sure because snuff bottles are a case by themselves. Theoretically, the faces could be present on Qianlong imperial ware, but not sure about the mark. On the other hand, a six character mark or zhuanti mark, which is normal for Qianlong imperial wares might be difficult to apply.
And then of course, it could also be a good fake of style of that period.
There is a forum somewhere which is specialized on snuff bottles of all types. You could try to find it. But in any case, be patient and wait until some opportunity comes around to check what period it is from. Even if it is 20th century it seems to be of better quality than some fake Qing wares.
Thank you Peter for your, as always, very accurate answer. Yes, the bottle stands steadily on its mouth. I found the forum specialized on snuff bottles. I'll ask and, if I'll learn something more, I'll post it here. Thank you again.
In my opinion, the decoration, esp. the black writing shows no age, snuff bottles are small and would have been handled showing ware, even if decorated by a foreigner.
I could be wrong, but it maybe could depend on the generally low use of imperial wares, if this were imperial, of course. But let me consult the guys of the snuff bottles forum, I'll write here their opinion. Thank you for your comment, Stan.
Hi Peter and Pablo, in one of my books on Chinese snuff bottles, shows a bottle with similar shape and similar lid in milk glass and says they are the most sought after of all snuff bottles, the rarest of them all, the one shown has similar bright colors and similar bottom, the one in my book is painted enamels on milk glass and the mark on the bottom is a 4 character Qianlong mark.
BTW, the book I was referring to was printed in 1966 " Chinese Snuff Bottles".
Stan, your discovery makes me feel euphoric! Thank you so much for your research and discovery, that could explain the absolute beauty and sweet expression of the faces minutely painted. I observed with a magnifier the whole surface of the bottle and of the lid. Mainly the second shows the appearance of glass, but maybe also the bottle body considering that, as Peter says, bubbles can be present in old examples of this material.
I consulted the specialized forum, but the answer was a bit hasty and not cogent like Peter's answers. He is and will be my main reference point in the effort to learn something in the field of chinese art. Thank you again, Stan. I'll try to get a copy of the book you kindly have mentioned, just as documentation.
Stan, is it subtitled "Magazine for the Collector and Student of Chinese Snuff", in five issues?
Sounds right to me...the foot rim just does not look like a porcelain foot rim, glazed or not.
The title is "Chinese Snuff Bottles, by Lilla S Perry. I bought several books from a retired collector of Chinese Antiques.
I found now the book at an online bookseller, Stan. I ordered it. Thank you again.
Thank you Peter!