A rare Imperial-tribute painted enamel 'European subject' oval snuff box and cover Red-enamelled Qianlong four-character mark and of the period. Estimate HK$ 250,000 - 350,000 (€29,000 - 40,000). Photo: Bonhams.
Exquisitely enamelled with vibrant and bright colours, the hinged cover with a raised oval cartouche decorated with a scene of lovers, featuring a European lady with a figure of Cupid standing on her right in front of leafy bushes, holding a basket of flowers in one hand and a pair of doves in the other, her head turned towards the gentleman beside her as he serenades her with his mandolin, all encircled by a band of stylised lotus and Roccoco-style leaf scrolls against a blue ground on the sloping sides of the cover and box, the interior of the box and cover decorated in sepia with landscape scenes depicting European buildings on a rich yellow ground, the base with a four-character kaishu mark. 7.6cm (3in) long
Provenance: According to the family, acquired by Hans Goldstein probably between 1948-1981 and thence by descent
Published and Exhibited: M.Gillingham, Chinese Painted Enamels, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1975, Catalogue no.33A
Notes: Snuff was an expensive luxury commodity in Europe in the 18th century and was introduced to the Qing Court by means of European missionaries, envoys and merchants. Snuff-taking became immensely popular, even with the emperor himself, and the imperial household began manufacturing snuff boxes and bottles with a combination of innovative western elements and ingenious Chinese craftsmanship.
The present lot in its form and decoration acknowledges inspirations from several cultures including the Chinese interpretation of the Indian-style lotus borders that emulates Rococo-type designs, together with a distinct European subject matter, representing an exotic foreign culture. The snuff box is therefore a representative artwork that bears witness to the integration of Asian and Western cultures in the imperial Court. The imperial Court's fascination with European culture and hence its depiction as decorative subject matter on various mediums is evident in many existing porcelain and works of art in the imperial collections in Beijing and Taipei, ranging from clocks to snuff bottles, vases and other vessels of porcelain and glass.
The usage of materials, forms, and techniques all reached new heights of skill and design during the Qianlong reign. Painted enamel, first introduced during the Kangxi reign by foreign missionaries, became a defining art form of the Qianlong style, in quality, innovation and unsurpassed opulence. The actual painting on the present snuff box was probably done by artists employed by private ateliers in Guangzhou who were capable of producing intricately designed pieces combining Chinese and European elements.
Compare related examples of painted enamel boxes and covers, Qianlong marks and of the period, also applying a related composition of a Western scene encircled by Chinese elements, from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Shi Jingfei, Radiant Luminance: The Painted Enamelware of the Qing Imperial Court, Taipei, 2012, pls.93, 94 and 104; and see also E.Rawski and J.Rawson, China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795, London, 2005, pl.98.
BONHAMS. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 4 Jun 2015 10:30 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY