Lot 58

Lot 58
Treasury 3, no. 430
HK$144,000

The Eternal Happiness Coral

Coral; well hollowed with a flat lip and recessed flat foot surrounded by a broad flat footrim with an irregular outer edge where it meets the carved design; carved with a continuous scene, set above a base of formalized waves, of a bat holding a beribboned fylfot medallion in its mouth, formalized clouds, and another, smaller bat in a garden setting with convoluted rocks, orchids, and a large lingzhi with two fungi growing from a single leafy stalk
1740–1850
Height: 4.64 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.44/2.30 and 2.22 cm. (oval)
Stopper: coral carved with two squirrels on a fruiting melon-vine; turquoise matrix collar

Lot 58 Provenance:
Hugh Moss
Paula J. Hallett
Hugh M. Moss Ltd. (1986)
Published:
Snuff Bottles of the Ch’ing Dynasty, no. 123
JICSBS, December 1978, p. 33, fig. 123
JICSBS, Winter/Spring 1983, p.25
JICSBS, Winter 1984, p. 15, fig. 27
Kleiner 1987, no. 184
Treasury 3, no. 430
Exhibited:
Hong Kong Museum of Art, October–December 1978
Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, October 1987
Creditanstalt, Vienna, May–June 1993

Lot 58 Commentary
This is another of the broad group of coral bottles represented by Treasury 3, nos. 428, 429, and no. 431. It relates most directly to the series of well-rounded forms from the group, which are often decorated with a range of scholar’s objects, such as ancient bronzes and ceramics, various symbolic flowers and fruit, scrolls, a qin, and so forth (see, for instance, Stevens 1976, nos. 591 and 593; Lawrence 1996, no. 28; Hall 1987, no. 87; JICSBS, March 1978, front cover, left, and Chinese Snuff Bottles 1, p. 19, centre). Another of the group, with the often-imperial subject of Buddhist lions playing with brocaded balls, is in Hui & Sin 1994,no. 200.

This is one of the more unusual subjects from the group and one of the most impressive of all coral bottles. The sumptuously carved stopper on this bottle is of perfectly matched colour and ideally set off by the delightfully-patinated, old turquoise collar. That it was not the original is certain, since it was assembled by Moss from separate parts in the late 1960s, having acquired the bottle earlier in the decade. Coral is one of the materials that can get away with matching stoppers quite comfortably, but even so, the contrasting collar was needed to bring out the best in both stopper and bottle and unify them comfortably. Although the cabochon of the stopper fitted the neck of the bottle perfectly, it did not truly come alive and dazzle until the turquoise collar was added, when it suddenly looked as if it had been there forever. It is now difficult to imagine it with any other stopper.

Part of the appeal of this bottle is the way in which the design has been fitted to the form so well. The pear shape is set on a ‘stand’ of formalized waves which terminate in a series of curling points, taking the solidity of the base area and transforming it into upward energy. This energy is then picked up by the design which encircles the main body of the bottle. With elements of the main bat and wisps of cloud pointing upward around the bottle, the energy is swirled around before continuing its upward movement, leading the eye to the neck, which is left plain, as if it is rising out of a band of flames to terminate in the stopper. The entire design is faultlessly composed and carved and one of the most successful of the entire group.

Various implications are embedded in different combinations of the motifs represented here. These, as usual, all pertain to the ideas of longevity, good fortune, and progeny, desires dearly cherished by the Chinese. The ribbon (shoudai), for example, can be teamed up with the bat (fu) and the waves (suggestive of the sea, or hai) to produce the saying shoushan fuhai (A life-span as long-lasting as the mountains and happiness as vast as the seas). The fylfot, or swastika-like sign, reads wan and has the meaning of ten thousand. Combined with the ribbon, the two motifs constitute a pictorial pun for the term wanshou which connotes the idea of longevity verging on immortality. Alternatively, the bat, the ribbon, and the lingzhi (a symbol of long life in itself, but can also mean ‘as you wish’ since the cloud-like head of this fungus gives shape to the sceptre-like ornament, ruyi, used to impart the hope that things always transpire according to one’s wishes), can be read together to evoke another auspicious saying fushou ruyi ([May you be blessed with] good fortune, longevity and things to your liking). Furthermore, the bat and the clouds (yun) pun on fuyun (good fortune). Likewise, the orchid (lan) and the lingzhi together express a desire for male (nan) progeny.

The material here is flawed, as is usual for this group, with one or two patches filled with coloured wax, one of the two standard methods of repairing small flaws in coral during the mid-Qing period (see discussion under Treasury 3, no. 431).