Chinese inside-painted glass snuff bottle, Zhang Baotian, 1894
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1894
This Chinese snuff bottle is crafted from glass in a compressed form and features intricate inside painting, a technique for which the artist Zhang Baotian was a renowned master of the Beijing school during the Guangxu period.
The bottle stands 6.2cm high, measured without its red stopper. The exterior surfaces display detailed figurative scenes created on the interior of the glass. One side is decorated with a boy riding a buffalo while playing a flute in a paddy field setting. The reverse side depicts a scholar accompanied by a boy attendant who carries a wrapped qin within a landscape. The artwork is accompanied by a signature and seal of the artist.
The bottle is dated to the Jia Wu year, which corresponds to 1894 AD, placing it firmly in the late 19th-century period of Chinese decorative arts. The craftsmanship reflects the traditional artistic standards of the Beijing inside-painting school, emphasizing delicate brushwork applied to the inner wall of the vessel.
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
- 6.2 cm (without stopper)
- Stopper
- red
- Material
- glass
Technical characteristics
- Decoration
- inside-painted
Design
- Obverse
- boy riding a buffalo playing flute in a paddy field
- Reverse
- scholar and boy attendant with a wrapped qin in a landscape
- Inscriptions
- signature and seal of the artist
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
- Zhang Baotian
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.