Footnotes

• Treasury 4, no. 623
  
  玻璃內畫西洋騎兵鼻煙壺
  自怡子，北京，約1900年作
  
  An inside-painted 'mounted Westerner' snuff bottle
  
  Glass, ink, and watercolours; with a slightly concave lip and recessed convex foot surrounded by a protruding rounded footrim; painted on one main side with a high-ranking Western soldier mounted on a horse, the other main side with a scene from the opera 'A Fisherman Kills a Family,' showing Xiao En fighting with the skilled fighter who had been sent to collect a tax
  Ziyizi, Beijing, probably circa 1900
  Height: 6.6 cm
  Mouth/lip: 0.68/1.74 cm
  Stopper: coral; stained walrus-ivory collar
  
  Condition: Bottle: the mouth is uneven which suggests that it may have been slightly polished. Painting: studio condition. General relative condition: very good.
  
  Illustration:
  Watercolour by Peter Suart
  
  Provenance:
  Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bozzo
  Robert Hall (1986)
  
  Published:
  JICSBS, Autumn 1986, p. 24, fig. 3
  Kleiner 1987, no. 303
  1987 exhibition poster
  Kleiner 1995, no. 399
  Treasury 4, no. 623
  
  Exhibited:
  Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, October 1987
  Creditanstalt, Vienna, May–June 1993
  British Museum, London, June–November 1995
  Israel Museum, Jerusalem, July–November 1997
  Christie's, London, 1999
  
  This painting could be by no other hand than Ziyizi's. It is painted in his typical boneless style and is in studio condition, allowing us to appreciate the artist's impressionistic skills in a medium that hardly encourages an impressionistic approach.
  
  The opera illustrated is known under two other titles, Qingdingzhu ('The Lucky Pearl') and Tao yushui ('Demanding the Fishing Tax'). It is about a retired bandit, Xiao En, who lived with his daughter, Xiao Guiying, by fishing. The local bully, Ding, sent his underlings to Xiao En, demanding the payment of a fishing tax. Xiao refused. He was severely punished by the magistrate and ordered to apologize. Xiao was so enraged that he decided to take his daughter with him to see Ding. They pretended to pay up with a prized pearl, which Guiying had received as a betrothal token from her fiancé. After they had gained access to the interior of the Ding residence, they took their revenge by slaughtering the whole Ding family and then fled for their lives. The scene depicted here occurs shows Xiao En giving Ding's henchman a good thrashing.
  
  For another summary of the plot, see Emily Byrne Curtis, 'Unexpected Dividends', JICSBS, Autumn 1986, p. 24, where, on p. 27, is illustrated a photograph of a scene from the opera.
  
  玻璃內畫打漁殺家鼻煙壺
  
  玻璃，墨，水彩；微凹唇，凸斂底，突出圈足，圈足底為一圓棱；一面內繪西洋騎兵， 一面內繪《打漁殺家》蕭恩把丁員派來的武術大教師打回的一場
  自怡子，北京，大約 1900年
  高﹕ 6.6 厘米
  口徑/唇徑： 0.68/1.74 厘米
  蓋﹕ 珊瑚；染色海象牙座
  
  狀態敘述： 壺：口沿略有不平，擬經磨平。內畫：出齋狀況。一般性相對的狀態：很好。
  
  帶有彼德小話 (Peter Suart) 水彩畫
  
  來源:
  Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bozzo
  羅伯特．霍爾 (1986)
  
  文獻﹕
  《國際中國鼻煙壺協會的學術期刊》，1986年秋期，頁 24，圖 3
  Kleiner 1987, 編號 303
  1987 展覽海報
  Kleiner 1995, 編號 399
  Treasury 4, 編號 623
  
  展覽﹕
  Sydney L. Moss Ltd.，倫敦，1987年10月
  Creditanstalt, 維也納， 1993年5月～6月
  大英博物館， 1995年6月～11月
  Israel Museum, 耶路撒冷，1997年7月～月11月
  倫敦佳士得，1999年
  
  《打漁殺家》又名《慶頂珠》、《討漁稅》。演此劇的名人有譚鑫培與王瑤卿、馬連與梅蘭芳、周信芳與李玉茹、譚富英與張君秋等，是一出生旦唱做並重的戲。

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Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art

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