A PRISTINE FOUR-COLOR OVERLAY ‘ZHONG KUI AND LIU HAI’ MILKY-WHITE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE, MID-QING DYNASTY

拍品描述

A PRISTINE FOUR-COLOR OVERLAY ‘ZHONG KUI AND LIU HAI’ MILKY-WHITE GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE, MID-QING DYNASTY China, 18th to early 19th century. Of flattened ovoid form, rising from an oval foot to a gently waisted neck with flat lip, carved through transparent overlays of sapphire blue, red, lemon-yellow, and greenish-yellow, one side depicting Liu Hai dancing atop the three-legged toad amid waves, the other side featuring Zhong Kui beside a bat and a finely incised ruyi scepter, the shoulders applied with a branch of peaches and persimmon, and the foot enclosed by rockwork, all above the semi-transparent white streaked ground. Stopper: Jadeite with black platelet Dimensions: Height including stopper 71 mm. Diameter neck 16 mm and mouth 8 mm. Zhong Kui is a ferocious semi-mythical figure charged with chasing away the demons of evil fortune. Traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of evil beings and reputedly able to command 80,000 demons, his image is often painted on household gates as a guardian spirit as well as in places of business where high-value goods are handled. The story of Liu Hai is frequently told as ‘Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad’. However, there is a hidden meaning here: The Chinese word for ‘toad’ is chanchu. Sometimes, Chinese will only pronounce the first character chan. In some Chinese dialects, the character chan has a pronunciation very similar to qian which means ‘coin’. Therefore, a storyteller reciting ‘Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad’ could also be heard by listeners as ‘Liu Hai playing with the gold coins’. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 21 May 2009, lot 1037 Price: HKD 54,000 or approx. EUR 9,100 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the similar color palette, form, dating, and size (7 cm). Note the different subject.

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