Chinese Yixing enamelled snuff bottle, 19th century
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
19th century
This 19th-century Chinese snuff bottle is crafted from Yixing clay and features a distinctive ribbed body. The vessel is decorated with polychrome enamels, depicting a flowering lotus on one side and a bird in flight above a prunus blossom branch on the reverse.
The design is further complemented by decorative enamelled borders, including a geometric fret pattern around the neck area. The bottle stands approximately 7 cm in height and retains its original stopper. The Yixing stoneware provides a rustic texture that serves as a canvas for the vibrant enamel work, which shows minor signs of wear consistent with age. An impressed maker's mark is present on the side of the base.
Such bottles were traditionally used to store powdered tobacco, an accessory that became highly popular in China during the Qing dynasty. This specimen exemplifies the fusion of traditional Yixing pottery techniques with sophisticated surface enamelling, reflecting the aesthetic preferences of the 19th century.
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 cm
- Material
- Yixing clay
Design
- Borders
- Geometric fret pattern
- Obverse
- Flowering lotus
- Reverse
- Bird flying above prunus blossom
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
- Sun Ji
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.