Chinese famille rose porcelain snuff bottle, Republican period
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
Republican period
This Chinese famille rose porcelain snuff bottle dates to the Republican period. The object features a distinctively shaped, flattened body decorated with detailed enamelled scenes.
On one side, the scholar Zhou Dunyi is depicted standing beside a lotus pond. The reverse side illustrates his attendant, who carries a lotus stem over his shoulder. The bottle is fitted with a gilt silver stopper and stands 7.6 cm in height. It is accompanied by a wooden stand. The base of the vessel bears a four-character inscription, Tongyun Shanfang, which translates to the Mountain retreat of the red clouds, representing the studio mark of the artist Wang Xiaotang.
The decorative scheme employs the traditional famille rose palette common to fine Chinese porcelain of this era. While showing minor signs of age, specifically some wear to the enamels and the gilding on the rim, the piece remains a representative example of early 20th-century porcelain snuff bottle production.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Height
- 7.6 cm
- Material
- porcelain, gilt silver
- Accessory
- wood stand
Technical characteristics
- Marks
- four-character Tongyun Shanfang mark
Design
- Obverse
- scholar Zhou Dunyi beside a lotus pond
- Reverse
- attendant holding a lotus stem
Identification
- Source note
- Described from a single auction-house listing published on Invaluable (reproduced with Invaluable's permission). Details apply to that one example; other examples of the type may differ, and the listing is supplementary evidence, not authentication.
- Maker named in listing
- Wang Xiaotang
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.