AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS ‘ZHONG KUI’ SNUFF BOTTLE, ATTRIBUTED TO A MEMBER OF THE YE FAMILY
Lot 207 - HS1225

China, Beijing, first half of the 20^th century. One side is painted with Zhong Kui riding a donkey to escort his younger sister to her wedding, seated in a sedan chair, both attended by small demons. The reverse depicting children at school, spending their leisure amicably under the distant gaze of their teacher. The rounded rectangular body supported on a splayed oval foot and rising to a cylindrical neck.

Provenance: From an English private collection. The base with an old label typed with an inventory number, ‘71’.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and manufacturing irregularities, a minor chip to the foot, few microscopic nicks, small surface scratches, minute fine fissures to base and one to the rim.

Stopper: Jadeite with metal collar
Weight: 47 g
Dimensions: Height 6.8 cm

According to folklore, Zhong Kui took part in the state-wide imperial examinations held in the capital city. Though he attained great academic success and top honors in the state exams, his rightful title of ‘Zhuangyuan’ (top-scorer) was stripped of him by the Emperor because of his disfigured and ugly appearance. In anger and fury, Zhong Kui committed suicide by hurling himself against the palace gates until his head was broken, whereupon Du Ping, his friend, had him laid to rest. During the divine judgment after his death from suicide, Yanluo Wang (the Chinese Underworld Judge) saw much potential in Zhong Kui, intelligent and smart enough to score top honors in the Imperial examinations but condemned to the capital of hell because of the strong grievance. Yama thus gave him the title of the King of Ghosts and tasked him to hunt, capture, take charge of and maintain discipline and order among demons and ghosts.

One of the various embellishments of the Zhong Kui legend recounts that after his death he arranged for his sister to marry the man who had once been his benefactor, while ensuring that she was cared for during his absence. In the present snuff bottle, she is shown in her wedding procession, accompanied by her brother and demon attendants. On a subtler level, the theme ‘Zhong Kui marrying off his sister’ (Zhong Kui jiamei) can also be interpreted as a visual pun on the term ‘jiamei’ (to be rid of evil spirits), conveying the wish for smooth and harmonious daily life.

The subject depicting Zhong Kui escorting his sister, originally rendered by Zhou Leyuan, was also taken up by Ye Zhongsan and other members of his family. While they followed the same theme, they gradually moved beyond Zhou’s initial influence to develop a style that appears entirely their own. All of them produced charming genre scenes and illustrations drawn from well-known books and myths, confidently executed in a bright, colorful palette, and showing a marked preference for blue and red in the early years of the twentieth century. For a more detailed study of the mythical figure of Zhong Kui and his depiction on snuff bottles, see Raymond Li, Chinese Snuff Bottle Themes: Popular Stories and Fables, 1893, pp. 54-57.

On the other side of the bottle is another of Ye's popular early subjects, depicting the consequences of a teacher neglecting his duty to instruct, here observing his students from outside the classroom through a window. Other examples of this subject by Ye Zhongsan himself are illustrated in Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, 1995, no. 272, and Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles III, 1990, no. 29.

Literature comparison:
The popular subject of Zhong Kui escorting his sister to her wedding can be often found on other snuff bottles painted by the Ye family. For related examples, see Hugh Moss, “The Apricot Grove Studio. Part II”, JICSBS, Autumn 1982, p. 25, 31, and 43, figs. 55-56, 67a, and 115; Hugh Moss, The Apricot Grove Studio. Part II: The Artists (1912-1929), JICSBS, Spring 1984, p. 51 and 55, fig. 140 and 153; and Hugh Moss, The Apricot Grove Studio. Part II: The Artists (1930-1949), Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Autumn 1984, p. 80, fig. 234.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 29 March 2006, lot 30
Price: USD 10,800 or approx. EUR 15,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An inside-painted glass snuff bottle, signed Ye Zhongsan, Beijing, dated autumn in the Gengzi year (1900)
Expert remark: See a bottle depicting the same subject, painted by Ye Zhongsan or a member of his family, many of whom also used his signature.