Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 9. (Budapest, 1966)

HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM — MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Polonyi, Péter: Some Inside-Painted Chinese Snuff Bottles

say to the Chinese of the early 20th century. The inscription ,,Liu hsiutsai ting-mo chiu jih Chou Shao-yüan tso" (,,Liu hsiutsai, made by Chou Shaoyüan in autumn day of ting-mo year") is accompanied by an oval positive seal bearing the vertical text „Shao-yüan". The colours are Chinese ink, blue, red and brown. Yeh Chung-san is used to be regarded as the most prolific representative of snuff bottle painting; our collection includes two of his bottles (Nos. 50.410 and 50.411). Both were made in 1907 and represent different sorts offish (carp, goldfish, etc.) swimming among water-weeds. By way of analogy let us take the third bottle of Fig. 4. published in ,,Oriental Art" by Cammann (dating from 1911, collection of Garry P. Mack). Due to the comparatively early date, it is conceivable that we are facing a genuine work of the artist.

27 In regard to their finish, however, these pieces are nevertheless of a rather commercial character. The first piece (height: 4.8 cm) is of oval form (Figs. 7—8.) and of a comparatively fine craftsmanship; the picture continues without interruption on both sides. The inscription ,,Ting-mo chiu yüeh Yeh Chung-san tso" (,,Made by Yeh Chung-san in the 9th month of ting-mo year") is accompanied by an oval negative seal bearing the text ,,Chung-san" (?). Chinese ink, green, red, brown and pink colours. The other piece (h. : 6.2 cm) is of an interesting form (double gourd), where the manufacturing required a special technical virtuosity by the fact that the maximum external thickness of the very thin bottle is not more than 0.8 cm. It is probably not made of glass. Chinese ink, red and green colours. The painting does not assert itself too well through the rather nontransparent material. Its inscription reads as follows: ,,Ting-mo liu yüeh Yeh Chung-san tso" (,,Made by Yeh Chung-san in 6th lunar month of ting-mo year") and is accompanied by an oval negative seal with the text ,,Chung-san" (?). Belonging to the later representatives of the first phase, Kuan Yü-t'ien

28 has two bottles in our museum. According to Cammann, his earliest piece actually known dates back to 1895.,

29 while the artist himself has worked till 1907. Our bottle Nr. 50.409 (h. : 6.3 cm) bears the inscription ,,Yi-mo Chingshih Kuan Yü-t'ien tso" (,,Made by Kuan Yü-t'ien in yi-mo year of sixty-year cycle at capital") ; accordingly, it was made also in 1895 and is of the same age as the one recorded as the earliest. It is of a cylindrical body, its uninterrupted picture represents herons hidden behind lotus plant, in a fine composition. Chinese ink, brown, blue, pink and white. The seal is composed of two squares touching each other at the corners, with horizontal negative inscription „Yüt'ien". The large piece Nr. 53.225 (9.2 cm) is without date and bears the inscription ,,Yü-t'ien Kuan shih" (,,Yü-t'ien from Kuan family"), accompanied by a very small oval negative seal with the hardly legible vertical text ,, Yü-t'ien". The slightly flattened bigbellied bottle is decorated with an uninterrupted stripe of plum flowers, lotus and chrysanthemum. Chinese ink, yellow, red, 27 fj

It is impossible that any one man could have produced the great number of bottles which we find signed with his name" (Perry op. cit. p. 137.). It is supposed on this basis that the later pieces were made by his successors. 28 On our inscriptions the family name of the artist should be read „Jun", but have accepted Cammann's explanation saying that this is a special abbreviated form of Kuang. He supported his opinion by saying that he has seen „a snuff bottle by this artist in the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, (which) is clearly signed with the character Kuan in its commonly abbreviated form." (Cammann HJAS p. 320.) 29 In the possession of Schuyler Cammann.