AN IMPORTANT CARVED LANDSCAPE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE
Chen Guozhi, attributed to Jingdezhen, 1820-1860
Of slender ovoid form with shoulders sloping to a long cylindrical neck, covered overall with a clear transparent glaze, the porcelain molded and applied, carved with a continuous scene, on one main side with pavilions nestled amongst trees in a rocky, mountainous landscape of towering crags, the reverse with a pavilion amongst pine trees high in the mountains overlooking a waterfall tumbling into a swiftly flowing river, one narrow side with a scholar standing on the edge of a promontory looking out over the water, the base with an incised potter's mark, signed Chen Guozhi zuo, made by Chen Guozhi; with original stopper.
3in (7.7cm) high
Footnotes:
1820-1860 陳國治 瓷胎刻山水陋室圖鼻煙壺一件
《陳國治作》款

Provenance:
Kenneth Brown, La Jolla, CA.
Sotheby's New York, December 2, 1985, lot 143
Joan and Ted Dorf Collection, no. 65

Literature:
Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles. The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 6, Part 3, Arts of the Fire, 2008, p. 762, fig. 3

Exhibited:
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD., September 30 – December 9, 2018

Chen Guozhi, Wang Bingrong and Li Yucheng are considered the masters of carving on, what is termed, 'biscuit' porcelain with one publication describing Chen Guozhi as 'the showman.' Nevertheless he was a commercial potter albeit one of the finest in his genre of porcelain carving. Chen made both scholars' objects, admirably showing control over larger pieces such as brush pots and snuff bottles which were both artistic and incredibly detailed. No two snuff bottles are ever exactly the same though this bottle is very similar to a bottle in the collection of Mary and George Bloch, illustrated in 'Treasury', no. 1353, although that bottle has a pale turquoise-blue glaze. Chen was renowned as a potter during the Daoguang reign with a number of nineteenth century publications citing him. A number of his works also include a reign mark in addition to his name establishing his working period in both the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns. His last dated work was in 1858. Unfortunately Chen suffered an untimely death sometime after that at the hands of bandits on the road. The majority of biscuit porcelain bottles do not have their original stoppers, although this example suggests that most were made with matching stoppers.

This is a magnificent bottle, brilliantly conceived and executed. There are two very small glaze flakes near the waterfall on one side; otherwise the bottle is in very good condition, superbly rendered and of even color throughout.