Descrizione
Description: This snuff bottle is inside painted and signed by Yan YuTian, one of the most well-known artists of the Beijing Middle School period (c. 1880-1920). Strangely, in this bottle he signed his first name (Yutian) in front followed by his family name (Yan). The bottle is decorated with a couple of flying pigeons or doves on one side (see the Notes here below) and a group of Scholars sitting in a covered terrace, facing a natural landscape of mountains and waters (Shanshui: Shan=mountain and shui=water). This bottle is undoubtedly made of glass, but it is lacking the typical streaks seen at the base of glass bottles. All the bubbles in the glass are perfectly round, not elongated as it is usually seen, especially in proximity of the neck and base, on blown bottles due to the “pulling” action during the stretching of the glass. Because of that and because of the elaborated shape and base, we suspect that it could be a bottle carved out from a solid block of glass. But we can’t assess it with certainty.
Material: Glass.
Size: 60 mm high
Provenance: Antiquarian market
References:
Notes: Pigeons are the same as doves in Chinese symbolism. A pair of doves represents the attributes of longevity, fertility, and faithfulness. During the Han dynasty, jade scepters bearing a pigeon design on one end were presented to elders for longevity. It is said that when the dove sings, with such a calming cooing sound, the veil that separates the physical and spiritual worlds opens and closes. This is why it is also a bird that represents inner peace.
Recensioni
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