China, circa 1895. The rectangular glass bottle with rounded sides and shoulders, of miniature size, painted in rich tones of grisaille depicting a lake and mountain landscape scene on each side, by Yan Yutian, signed Zhou Leyuan.

Provenance: From a UK private collection, Hertfordshire, acquired from Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd. A copy of the original invoice, dated 20 November 2000 and describing the piece as ‘A rare glass inside-painted Snuff Bottle, of miniature size, painted in rich tones of grisailles with a continuous lake and mountain landscape scene, by Yan Yutian, circa 1895, signed Zhou Leyuan’, accompanies this lot. Robert Kleiner (1948-2014) was an important expert on and dealer of Chinese snuff bottles, beginning his long career at Sotheby’s Chinese Art department in London. Along with Hugh Moss and Bob Hall, Robert Kleiner became a key advisor to the Mary and George Bloch collection, and it was Robert who wrote and produced the very first catalog of their bottles.
Condition: Good condition with little wear, few tiny nibbles to the foot and neck, a minute chip to the lip, some manufacturing irregularities such as open bubbles.

Stopper: Ruby red glass stopper, carved spoon
Weight: 19 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 56 mm. Diameter neck 18 mm and mouth 5 mm.

Yan Yutian was one of the most well-known artists of the Beijing Middle School period c. 1880-1920 and occasionally signed his works in the name of the master of the school, Zhou Leyuan. As the styles of the two artists are radically different there was no intent to deceive, and such a signing is in the tradition of Chinese painting where a pupil would often sign his master’s name as a mark of respect.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related inside-painted glass snuff bottle, by Yan Yutian, also dated 1895, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in Snuff Bottles From The Mary And George Bloch Collection: Part X on 31 May 2015, lot 97, sold for HKD 60,000. Compare another closely related inside-painted glass snuff bottle, signed by Yan Yutian, also dated to 1895, at Christie’s New York in The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles: Part VI on 12 September 2018, lot 634, sold for USD 4,375.

閻玉田内畫鼻烟壺
中國，約1895年。扁方形壺，削肩，極小，内畫水墨山水。落款為“京師周樂元作”，但實則為閻玉田所作。閻玉田是清末（約1880-1920年）周樂元北京流派著名的藝術家之一，他偶爾會在自己的作品上簽上老師周樂元的名字，但兩位藝術家的風格截然不同。而且這樣的簽名符合中國繪畫的傳統，即學生經常簽署其師父的名字以示尊重。

來源：英國Hertfordshire私人收藏，購於倫敦Robert Kleiner & Co. Ltd.藝廊。隨附一份2000年11月20日開具的發票副本，描述此拍品為“A rare glass inside-painted Snuff Bottle, of miniature size, painted in rich tones of grisailles with a continuous lake and mountain landscape scene, by Yan Yutian, circa 1895, signed Zhou Leyuan” (罕見琉璃内畫鼻烟壺，微型，内畫山水風景，閻玉田，約1895年，周樂元)。Robert Kleiner (1948-2014) 是一位重要的中國鼻煙壺專家和古玩商，在倫敦蘇富比中國藝術部開始了他的職業生涯。 Robert Kleiner與 Hugh Moss 和 Bob Hall 一起，成為 Mary 和 George Bloch 收藏的重要顧問，他編寫並製作了他們的第一個鼻烟壺目錄。
品相：狀況良好，輕微磨損，足部和頸部輕微小磕損，唇部有微小的磕損，一些製造瑕疵，例如開放的氣泡。

壺蓋: 寶石紅琉璃, 雕刻小勺
重量：19 克
尺寸：含蓋高56 毫米頸部直徑18 毫米及口部直徑5 毫米

拍賣結果比較：比較一件十分相近的1895年閻玉田内畫琉璃鼻烟壺，見香港蘇富比Snuff Bottles From The Mary And George Bloch Collection: Part X 2015年5月31日 lot 97, 售價HKD 60,000；另一件1895年閻玉田内畫琉璃鼻烟壺，見紐約佳士得The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles: Part VI 2018年9月12日 lot 634, 售價USD 4,375。