Footnotes

• This inside-painted snuff bottle may be an imitation of a Ma Shaoxuan example, formerly in the J & J Collection, illustrated by Emily Byrne Curtis, Reflected Glory in a Bottle, New York, 1980, pp.87-90 and Moss, Graham and Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, New York, 1993, p.700, no.427, then sold in Christies New York, 29 March 2006, lot 34. The unsigned inside-painted snuff bottle by Ma Shaoxuan is understood to depict the portrait of a famous Peking drama actor, Shi Xiaofu (1846-1900). A native of Suzhou, Shi has a very successful career in Beijing and retired and passed away about 1900. Shi became a teacher and active in the administrative affairs of the Theatre Guild.
  
  The reverse of the bottle depicts Wang Yaoqing (1881-1954) who was another famous Tan actor, one of the first group of actors training female actresses. Famous opera stars such as Mei Lanfang (1894-1961) were also their students.
  
  馬氏家族 水晶內畫時小福、王瑤卿肖像鼻煙壺
  
  壺呈扁方瓶形，滑肩，橢圓形圈足。內畫一面京戲藝人時小福肖像，穿著厚厚的衣服，表情嚴肅。另一面繪有以女裝打扮的王瑤卿肖像，亭亭玉立。
  
  此壺擬是仿另一件曾為J & J 收藏之馬少宣無款鼻煙壺，見莫士撝, Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶著，《The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle》，紐約，1993，頁700，編號427，後拍賣於紐約佳士得，2006年3月29日，拍品編號34。
  
  時小福(1846-1900)，江蘇吳縣人，著名京劇大師，嗓音委婉，有「天下第一青衣」之美譽，退休後曾老師，桃李滿門，約1900年去世。王瑤卿(1881-1954)，被視為第一批大師訓練女性京劇藝人，推動了花旦角色之重要地位，創新風格，他們兩者也曾是名伶梅蘭芳(1894-1961)之老師。有關兩位大師之研究，可參見Emily Byrne Curtis, 《Reflected Glory in a Bottle》, 紐約, 1980年, 頁87-90。

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Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art

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