China, 1723-1735. Of ovoid form, the short waisted foot and neck each with a flat gilt-copper rim. Finely enameled on a yellow ground with formal scrolling flowers and vines as well as a circular medallion with the character shou (longevity) between a bat and a neatly detailed lotus blossom. The neck and foot enameled with bands of formalized lotus petals and line borders. The concave base with a red-enameled four-character mark Yongzheng nianzhi and of the period.

Provenance: Belgian trade.
Condition: Fine condition commensurate with age showing expected old wear and some manufacturing irregularities, rubbing to gilt, minor flaking to enamels, minute nicks to the copper alloy foot and lip. One small chip to the shoulder with an associated old repair. While the enamels are generally crisp and quite well preserved, the yellow background is somewhat faded.

Stopper: Gilt bronze, possibly matching, good spoon
Weight: 124.5 g
Dimensions: Height incl. stopper 100 mm. Diameter neck 15 mm and mouth 6 mm

As noted by Hugh Moss, “extant examples of Yongzheng painted enamels on metal are almost as rare as those surviving from the Kangxi reign. [...] Of all surviving marked enamels from the Yongzheng era (there are not many), more than half are southern.” Yellow-ground enamel on copper examples of this form and from the “southern” group, e.g. from Guangzhou, are rare and vary in decoration including designs of dragons, deer in landscape, and bats, lotus and Shou, as seen on the present bottle.

The Imperial Enamel Workshop which was first established in Beijing by the Kangxi Emperor utilizing the knowledge of Jesuit priests and enamellers from Guangzhou, was producing enamel works since circa 1715 as attested to by a Jesuit priest, Father de Maille, see H. Garner, The Origins of Famille Rose, TOCS, vol. 37, 1967-1969, London, 1970, page 4. However, the most important Chinese craftsmen came from Guangzhou as shown in a Court memorial dated 1716 noting the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi sent two artisans to Beijing to serve in the Enamel Workshop, see Yang Boda, Tributes from Guangdong to the Ch'ing Court, Hong Kong, 1987, page 63. By the Yongzheng period, technical challenges were gradually overcome and the painting became more refined and controlled.

This bottle exhibits the Guangzhou tendency to elaborate on Beijing decorative motifs in a novel manner. Although the subject of formalized flowers on a yellow ground was common to both the Palace workshops in Beijing and on Guangzhou wares for the court, the style was generally different. The standard northern style tended to be simpler and more powerful, while its southern counterpart was more complex and ornate, often using a greater range of filling colors within outlined areas, such as scrolling vines and leaves.

The lotus is a symbol of harmony in marriage as well as a Buddhist symbol of purity, because the perfect flower emerges from mud and murky waters. The overlapped lotus petals used as decorative borders in the present lot are derived from the bases of Buddhist sculptures from the sixth century onwards, which are usually surrounded by a series of registers of petals opening up to the Buddha seated above. The bat (fu) forms one of the most popular rebuses in Chinese art as it is a pun on the word for ‘blessings’.

Literature comparison:
Yongzheng reign-marked enamel snuff bottles are extremely rare, with only a small number from the Qing court collection still preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2003, nos. 129-133.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 March 2008, lot 261
Price: USD 73,000 or approx. EUR 96,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A very rare and unusual Guangzhou enamel snuff bottle, Imperial, Guangzhou, Yongzheng four-character mark in brown enamel and of the period
Expert remark: Compare the related motif and form. Note the similar size (height 8.9 cm excl. stopper).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 10 February 2021, lot 3026
Price: HKD 604,800 or approx. EUR 73,300 converted at the time of writing
Description: A Canton Enamel 'Millefleurs' Snuff Bottle Mark and Period of Yongzheng
Expert remark: Compare the quality of the painting, the enameling technique, and the execution of the mark.



雍正款與年代御用廣州琺瑯纏枝蓮紋福壽紋鼻煙壺
中國，1723-1735年。口略外撇，短頸，卵形，壺身成卵形，圈足；口部和足部邊緣包鍍金銅。淡黃色地，精美琺瑯，肩部蕉葉紋，在蝙蝠與纏枝蓮紋之間團壽紋。 圈足内紅彩“雍正年製”四字款。

來源：比利時古玩交易。
品相：品相良好，有磨損，琺瑯輕微剝落，足部和唇部包銅有微小刻痕。肩部有小磕損和相應的修補。

壺蓋：鎏金銅，可能原配，小勺精緻
重量：124.5 克
尺寸：含壺蓋高100 毫米，頸部直徑15 毫米，壺口直徑6 毫米

如 Hugh Moss 所指出的，“現存的雍正金屬胎彩繪琺瑯幾乎與康熙年間的那些一樣罕見。 [...] 在雍正時代所有現存的有款識的琺瑯中（數量不多），超過一半來自南方。” 這類銅胎黃地琺瑯和來自南方，例如廣州產的一樣罕見，紋飾繁複，如本瓶，以及龍紋、鹿紋、蝙蝠紋、蓮紋、壽紋等。

康熙皇帝將廣州耶穌會神父和琺瑯匠人的知識輸送到北京，建立了皇家琺瑯作坊，大約從 1715 年開始生產。耶穌會神父 de Maille 神父證實了這一點，見 H. Garner，《The Origins of Famille Rose，TOCS,》，卷 37，1967-1969年，倫敦，1970年，4頁。然而，最重要的中國工匠來自廣州，如 1716 年的一份宮廷奏摺所示，兩廣總督派遣兩名工匠到北京在琺瑯作坊工作 ，見楊伯達，《清宮廣東貢品》，香港，1987 年，第 63 頁。到了雍正時期，技術上的挑戰逐漸被克服，繪畫變得更加精緻。此瓶展現了廣州對北京紋飾的推崇。儘管黃地花卉的主題在北京的宮廷作坊和廣州的宮廷器皿上都很常見，但風格不同。標準的北方風格往往更簡單、更強大，而南方的風格則更複雜、更華麗，通常在輪廓區域內使用大量填充顏色。

文獻比較：
雍正款及年代的鼻煙壺極罕見，僅有少數的清廷收藏，收藏於北京故宮博物院，見《The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum，Snuff Bottles》，香港，2003年，編號129-133。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2008年3月19日，lot 261
價格：USD 73,000（相當於今日EUR 96,000）
描述：雍正款及年代廣州琺瑯壽紋鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較相近的主題和外形。請注意相似的尺寸(高 8.9 厘米不含壺蓋)。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2021年2月10日，lot 3026
價格：HKD 604,800（相當於今日EUR 73,300）
描述：清雍正銅胎廣東畫琺瑯百花圖鼻煙壺 《雍正年製》款
專家評論：比較的繪畫品質、畫琺瑯技巧和雍正四字款。