Footnotes

Treasury 6, no. 1195


模製米色瓷胎劉海鼻煙壺
景德鎮，大概官窯作，1790～1820


Early Commercial Success

Iron-red and black enamels on crackled colourless glaze on beige porcelain; moulded in the form of Liu Hai holding a string of cash draped around his shoulders, which are covered with a shawl of leaves, with a cord suspended from the string and hanging down his back to hold a bi disc and an ornamental beribboned knot, his three-legged toad at his knees clutching at the string of cash, the glaze continuing beneath the naturalistic foot of the bottle, the pupils of his eyes painted black, his mouth red; the interior unglazed.
Probably imperial, Jingdezhen, 1790–1820
Height: 8.35 cm
Mouth: 0.7 cm
Stopper: jet, carved to resemble either a hat or an elaborate hairstyle
Condition: Perfect condition; four rough spots on the back of the figure where it was fired on a four-point spur. Tiny chip on underside of stopper

Provenance:
Hugh Moss (HK), Ltd (1989)

Published:
Arts of Asia, September-October 1990, p. 92
Treasury 6, no. 1195

Commentary:
Given that all porcelain bottles seem to have been pressed into moulds as the easiest method of construction, it is perhaps surprising that the full potential of this method did not manifest itself in bottles until the mid-Qing period. Moulded-relief decoration exists from the early Qianlong reign (see for instance Treasury 6, no. 1151), but it was not until the last decades of the Qianlong reign that it seems to have occurred to the potters to fully exploit the medium. Once they did, developments were rapid. Complicated moulded designs on standard-shaped bottles quickly developed alongside a range of naturalistic shapes, such as figures of humans and animals. This development continued into the late Qing dynasty, but the height of the art form was between about 1780 and 1820, possibly slipping into decline even before the end of the Jiaqing reign.

Figure and animal subjects were rarely reign marked. (Several recent fakes, in contrast, are inscribed with unlikely nineteenth-century reign marks, often in strange places.) The originals, nevertheless, were probably part of imperial output, for reasons discussed under Treasury 6, no. 1191.

One of the most popular figural forms was that of Liu Hai, the immortal associated with commercial success and wealth (see Treasury 4, no. 525). Various different moulds of this figure appear from the early Jiaqing reign, or perhaps even as early as the late Qianlong. Liu Hai was one of the figural moulds that continued to be produced in series throughout the nineteenth century, albeit with a steady decline in quality. They become more and more rudimentary, a progression that can be seen in Chinese Snuff Bottles, no. 5: p. 61, where the latest example, bearing a Tongzhi reign mark (1862–1874), is relatively crude and simple.

This particular mould is one of the finest from the mid-Qing and exists both in monochrome (although there is some detailing with enamels here) and enamelled versions (for the latter, apparently from the same mould, see the front cover of Chinese Snuff Bottles, no. 4) The same subject appears from various different moulds, some very close to each other, suggesting that it was a successful design. No doubt, when a set of moulds was worn out or damaged, or even simply in order to increase the rate of production, further sets of moulds were made resembling the original as closely as possible. An enamelled version of this subject, but from a different mould, is in Chinese Snuff Bottles, no. 5: p. 61, fig. 49; others are in Lawrence 1996, no. 87; and Stevens 1976, no. 314.


清朝中期的劉海戲金蟾

米色瓷胎冰紋無色釉上畫鐵紅和黑色琺瑯彩，模印劉海立像，劉海肩上披葉子作的披肩，脖子掛貫錢的長繩，三足蟾正攫取其一端，劉海背後掛著一璧，璧下懸掛一吉祥結；底亦施釉，以黑彩點睛，以紅彩塗唇，器內不無釉

景德鎮，大概官窯作，1790～1820
高：8.35 厘米
口經：0.7厘米
蓋：煤精，雕成帽子或多層髻
狀態敘述：完善；背有四支釘痕，蓋底有微小的缺口

來源：
Hugh Moss (HK), Ltd (1989)
文獻﹕
Arts of Asia, 1990年9 月～10月，頁92
Treasury 6，編號1195

說明：
瓷胎鼻煙壺最輕便的製法是脫胎，即用瓷泥填進模具中，然後取下模具，把成形的煙壺燒窯。乾隆早期就有模印圖案（如Treasury 6，編號1151），但奇怪的是，一直到乾隆末期才出現象充分開發模製法的瓷胎鼻煙壺。之後，模製法發展很快。既有比較復雜的模印圖案，也有人像型獸像型煙壺。這種發展延續到晚清，而其高潮時期就是1780～1820年間，嘉慶結束前好像已經趨於式微了。

人形、獸形煙壺很少有年款。（近年的贗品卻有炫燿著難以置信的十九世紀款識的，常在古怪的位置。）不過，因為十八世紀吉祥種物形的玉器和黃色玻璃器是御製品或者御用品，可推定人形、獸形瓷胎鼻煙壺原來是官窯出產量的一部分。以劉海為題材的鼻煙壺，在嘉慶初或乾隆末就有模製品，到了十九世紀，還出產成套的劉海鼻煙壺，隨著時間的推移，品質趨於草率；可參見Chinese Snuff Bottles 5， 頁61（最晚的一件，有同治年款）。

本壺的模子是清中期最優秀的之一。單色的、施琺瑯彩的都有（相信是出於同一模子的琺瑯煙壺見Chinese Snuff Bottles 4，封面）。同題異模的不少，可參照Chinese Snuff Bottles 5， 頁61，圖49、Lawrence 1996，編號87、Stevens 1976， 編號314。