A COPPER RED ‘THREE FRIENDS OF WINTER’ PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE, 19TH CENTURY

拍品描述

A COPPER RED ‘THREE FRIENDS OF WINTER’ PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE, 19TH CENTURY China. Of neatly potted bamboo form, surmounted by a thin tubular neck and raised on circular foot, the exterior sides painted in underglaze red with a pine branch, blossoming prunus, and bamboo, representing the three friends of winter. Dimensions: Height including stopper 59 mm. Diameter neck 9 mm and mouth 4 mm. With a padded box. (2) The ‘Three Friends of Winter’ motif is frequently used across all mediums in Chinese art. Comprised of pine, bamboo and prunus, this motif is emblematic of the Confucian virtues of fortitude and resilience. As the pine and bamboo are evergreen plants and the prunus, a plant that has lived for a long time, the three together are also an auspicious symbol of longevity. Literature comparison: Compare a related bottle in the British Museum, inventory number Franks.571, also painted in underglaze copper-red on a white ground, and dated to the 18th-19th century. Compare a closely related copper-red porcelain snuff bottle modeled as a section of bamboo, dated 1750-1820, 7.2 cm tall, illustrated in Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd., January 1998, London, 1998, p. 9, no. 22.

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