An unusual inscribed porcelain snuff bottle, Zhou Honglai, Late Qing Dynasty. Photo Bonhams.
Of flattened ovoid form with a straight neck and rounded lip and with an unglazed oval foot rim, one face engraved with a figures in a boat beneath a moonlit sky, with a dedicatory inscription to Lianshu, signed Zhou Yanbin, with an engraved seal reading Zhou, reversed by the complete text of Su Shi's (1037-1101) First Prose Poem on the Red Cliff, 1082, and signed Yanbin ke (Yanbin engraved) followed by an engraved seal. 2 1/2in (6.4cm) high. Sold for US$ 9,375 (€6,738)
Zhou Honglai is considered to be one the finest artists practicing micro-engraving at the end of the Qing. However, the majority of his snuff bottles are on white glass, rather than porcelain. Other examples of his work on porcelain have been illustrated in the J & J collection, and Jutheau, Guide du collectionneur de tabatieres chinoises, p. 95; also illustrated in G. Tsang and H. Moss, Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1978, no. 244. For a discussion of his career and his works on bottles in glass, see Moss et. al., A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 5 , nos. 1049-1056.
Property from the Collection of Emmanuel Dimitri Gran (1894-1969)
Bonhams.CHINESE ART FROM THE SCHOLAR'S STUDIO. 17 Mar 2014, New York -www.bonhams.com
Zhou Honglai is considered to be one the finest artists practicing micro-engraving at the end of the Qing. However, the majority of his snuff bottles are on white glass, rather than porcelain. Other examples of his work on porcelain have been illustrated in the J & J collection, and Jutheau, Guide du collectionneur de tabatieres chinoises, p. 95; also illustrated in G. Tsang and H. Moss, Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1978, no. 244. For a discussion of his career and his works on bottles in glass, see Moss et. al., A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 5 , nos. 1049-1056.
Property from the Collection of Emmanuel Dimitri Gran (1894-1969)
Bonhams.CHINESE ART FROM THE SCHOLAR'S STUDIO. 17 Mar 2014, New York -www.bonhams.com