chine Molded porcelain, polychrome enamels and gilding. Rare double-snuffbox in enameled porcelain with court scenes. - 6.8 cm
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Current bid
€ 50
Reserve price not met
Expert
Selected by Sarah Le Helley
Studied Asian art and art market management; researched art in Taipei; worked in auctions.
Estimate € 2,000 - € 2,200
 | €50 |
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This Qing-dynasty double snuff bottle, dating to the 19th century, is made of moulded porcelain with polychrome enamels and gilding, and is decorated with court scenes.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Rare Chinese molded and glazed porcelain double snuff bottle, China, Qing dynasty, 19th century, circa 1800-1877.
This remarkable snuff bottle is distinguished by an unusually elaborate construction: it is formed of two independent inner compartments, each served by its own neck and closed with a distinct stopper. It is not merely a bottle with a double neck, but truly a functional double snuff bottle.
The flattened ovoid body is entirely adorned with a rich raised relief decoration, enhanced by polychrome enamels in vivid colors and broad gilding accents. The decoration unfolds continuously around the bottle and forms a true panoramic scene.
One face features an important ceremonial court scene, gathering a high-ranking figure surrounded by many officials, guards, and soldiers. The other face depicts a lively palace setting with ladies of the court, dignitaries, and characters moving among the architecture and garden elements.
The profusion of figures, the finesse of modeling, the many colors, and the gilded backgrounds give this small bottle a particularly decorative and narrative presence.
The two necks are joined but communicate with two distinct cavities, a key essential feature of this typology. The bottle also retains its two stoppers in pale rose quartz, mounted on cork pins.
Together they belong to the group of double porcelain snuff bottles made in China during the Qing dynasty in the 19th century. Comparable examples are held in institutions such as the British Museum, the Princeton University Art Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, confirming the antiquity and interest of this typology.
Condition: good overall for age. Normal wear, localized rubbing of gilding and enamels, slight firing irregularities and some small chips at the necks. One neck shows a small ancient repair. No major structural fractures of the body are visible. Both stoppers are present.
Dimensions: height with stoppers 6.8 cm; overall width of the two necks 3.1 cm; openings' diameters 0.9 and 1 cm.
Weight: 75 g.
Provenance: English trade; private Belgian collection.
A particularly appealing Qing double snuff bottle, both for its two-reservoir construction and for the richness of its figurative decoration, the preservation of its two stoppers, and its remarkable polychrome abundance.
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateRare Chinese molded and glazed porcelain double snuff bottle, China, Qing dynasty, 19th century, circa 1800-1877.
This remarkable snuff bottle is distinguished by an unusually elaborate construction: it is formed of two independent inner compartments, each served by its own neck and closed with a distinct stopper. It is not merely a bottle with a double neck, but truly a functional double snuff bottle.
The flattened ovoid body is entirely adorned with a rich raised relief decoration, enhanced by polychrome enamels in vivid colors and broad gilding accents. The decoration unfolds continuously around the bottle and forms a true panoramic scene.
One face features an important ceremonial court scene, gathering a high-ranking figure surrounded by many officials, guards, and soldiers. The other face depicts a lively palace setting with ladies of the court, dignitaries, and characters moving among the architecture and garden elements.
The profusion of figures, the finesse of modeling, the many colors, and the gilded backgrounds give this small bottle a particularly decorative and narrative presence.
The two necks are joined but communicate with two distinct cavities, a key essential feature of this typology. The bottle also retains its two stoppers in pale rose quartz, mounted on cork pins.
Together they belong to the group of double porcelain snuff bottles made in China during the Qing dynasty in the 19th century. Comparable examples are held in institutions such as the British Museum, the Princeton University Art Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, confirming the antiquity and interest of this typology.
Condition: good overall for age. Normal wear, localized rubbing of gilding and enamels, slight firing irregularities and some small chips at the necks. One neck shows a small ancient repair. No major structural fractures of the body are visible. Both stoppers are present.
Dimensions: height with stoppers 6.8 cm; overall width of the two necks 3.1 cm; openings' diameters 0.9 and 1 cm.
Weight: 75 g.
Provenance: English trade; private Belgian collection.
A particularly appealing Qing double snuff bottle, both for its two-reservoir construction and for the richness of its figurative decoration, the preservation of its two stoppers, and its remarkable polychrome abundance.
Seller's Story
MIMOSA SA — EXPERTISE, RESEARCH AND TRANSMISSION
For more than 26 years, I have been working as an art dealer specializing in ancient Asian arts. My work is not simply to offer objects: it is to observe them, to understand them, to study them and to document them before passing them to a new collector.
Each work presented by Mimosa SA undergoes thorough examination. Depending on its nature, this study may concern the iconography, the style, the proportions, the material, the execution techniques, surface traces, patina, the condition, restorations, provenance as well as relevant bibliographic, museum or archaeological comparisons. When justified, additional scientific analyses may also be undertaken.
Our approach rests on the experience of sight, gained from direct contact with the works for over two decades, but also on methodical and constantly renewed research. We always favor a cautious, coherent and argued attribution rather than a seductive but insufficiently substantiated assertion.
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. The wear, gaps, accidents, ancient restorations or more recent interventions are reported as precisely as possible. When an attribution carries uncertainty or remains a working hypothesis, it is clearly presented as such.
Present on Catawiki since 2016, we have chosen to maintain a regular selection of works there in order to meet international collectors who value authenticity, knowledge and quality of documentation.
Each acquisition is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued under our professional responsibility. For the most important works, this certificate takes the form of a genuine study dossier gathering the main technical, stylistic, iconographic, historical and bibliographic observations made during our research.
The same standard applies to shipping. Over the years, we have developed a packaging method adapted to old, fragile, heavy or complex-shaped objects. Each work is protected, immobilized and carefully packaged, according to its material and its particularities. The shipping costs correspond to the real needs for protection, handling, insurance and secure transport. Shipping is never regarded as a source of commercial profit.
Acquiring a work from Mimosa SA is to receive a selected, studied, described, documented and prepared object with the same care that we would wish for a work destined for our own collection.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Culture
chine
Century/timeframe
XIXe siècle, vers 1800-1877 | Dynastie Qing
Name of object
Rare double-snuffbox in enameled porcelain with court scenes.
Acquired from
Auction house
Year acquired
2023
Material
Molded porcelain, polychrome enamels and gilding.
Country acquired from
Austria
Condition
Good
Previous owner acquired from
Private collection
Height
6.8 cm
Previous owner - year acquired
2010
Width
5.5 cm
Previous owner - country acquired from
Belgium
Depth
2.5 cm
I verify that I have obtained this object legally and that I am allowed to sell it
Yes
Authenticity
Original/official
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