Bonhams 1793 : An inside-painted rock-crystal 'traveller and crane' snuff bottle Ding Erzhong, circa 1898-1899

An inside-painted rock-crystal 'traveller and crane' snuff bottle Ding Erzhong, 1898-1899

24 Nov 2012 10:00 CST Hong Kong
The Paul Braga Collection of Snuff Bottles
Back to auction 20524

An inside-painted rock-crystal 'traveller and crane' snuff bottle

Ding Erzhong, circa 1898-1899
Of rectangular form, intricately painted on the inside with a mountainous scene of a traveller on a donkey journeying across a bridge, the reverse with a crane perched on a rock under a pine tree, both sides with kaishu inscriptions, two signatures and painted seal marks of the artist.
5.7cm high.

Sold for HK$ 350,000 inc. premium

Footnotes

Cranes are a popular subject matter amongst Ding Erzhong inside-painted snuff bottles, as they symbolise longevity and a rise through the ranks of official position. It is noteworthy that the artist seldom painted the same composition and hence every snuff bottle is unique and one of a kind.

'Searching for Prunus Blossoms in the Snow' is another common subject matter of Ding's snuff bottles. The tale of Meng Haoran (689-740), riding a donkey and searching for prunus blossoms on a snowy day, demonstrates a scholar's willingness to spend time and appreciate the beauty of the nature. For similar examples, see Moss, Graham and Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: the Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol.4, Inside-Painted, Hong Kong, 2000, pp.298-299 & 309-310, no.549 and 554. By comparing these snuff bottles, it is clear that Ding had the tendency to paint scholars with orangey-red colour clothes, which contrast greatly against the light colour of landscapes.

In the history of Chinese painting, Shi Zhou, or better known as Qiu Ying (c.1494-1552), the famous Suzhou professional painter in Ming dynasty, excelled at different kinds of painting style, fine or freehand brushwork, and was named one of Four Masters of Wu School.

約1898-1899 丁二仲水晶內畫踏雪尋梅鼻煙壺

壺呈方形瓶，邊緣位置略為磨平，方中帶圓，圓直頸，方足圈。一面繪有壯碩松樹，一隻鶴子站在石上，上題「松鶴遐齡二仲」，下畫「二中」白文長方印，；另一面繪在山石背景下，文人坐著驢子，回首看梅，梅花卻未開，充分表現出踏雪尋梅之意，上題「仿十洲先生法二仲」，下畫「丁」白文方印。

鶴鳥是丁二仲內畫中經常出現的母題，其寓意有時是如本壺般指長壽，尤其配合松柏，主題更為鮮明；有時是指丹鳳朝陽，寓意升官發財。但丁二仲每一次畫鶴鳥均利用不同構圖，少見有重複，是其個人特色。

踏雪尋梅故事是說孟浩然(689-740)常騎驢，冒雪尋梅，為賞景苦等之意。丁二仲曾多次繪畫踏雪尋梅這母題，例子可參見莫士撝, Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶著，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，第4冊，第一部份，頁298-299，編號549及同冊，第二部份，頁309-310，編號554。綜合多件丁二仲的作品，可見畫家喜以淺降山水為背景，孟浩然則穿以橙紅色的衣服，突出主角，而早期之構圖較多交代背景。

畫史上字十洲的畫家有仇英（约1494-1552），明代著名職業畫家，居蘇州，善作多種不同的畫法，工筆寫意兼備，是吳門四家之一。