The Meriem Collection Part II. Lot 214

214
**A RARE COPPER-RED AND UNDERGLAZE-BLUE-DECORATED
SNUFF POT
JINGDE ZHEN KILNS, DAOGUANG FOUR-CHARACTER SEAL MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE SEAL SCRIPT AND OF THE PERIOD (1821-1850)
With wide mouth, convex lip and recessed flat foot surrounded by a footrim, the body finely painted in underglaze copper red with formalized lotus scrolls and with two fine bands in underglaze blue encircling the neck and base, the bottle covered overall by a transparent glaze, the foot inscribed with a four character seal mark in underglaze blue, Daoguang nian zhi (Made in the Daoguang period), the original matching stopper painted with a lotus medallion
6.6 cm. high (including stopper)
$3,000-4,000

P R O V E N A N C E :
Elisabeth and Ladislas Kardos.

E X H I B I T E D :
Canadian Craft Museum, Vancouver, 1992.

The unusually wide mouth on this vessel suggests that this would have been used for scented snuff, a trend that took hold at the beginning of the 19th century. See R.J. Lynn, “Technical Aspects and Connoisseurship of Snuff and Snuff Bottles: Late Traditional Chinese Sources,” JICSBS, Summer 1995, p. 9, for a discussion of the practice of infusing the snuff with scent by removing the stopper in the evening and inserting petals overnight.

The Meriem Collection Part II. Lot 214