A BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLE
Attributed to Jingdezhen, 19th century
Of cylindrical, tapering form with shoulders sloping to a cylindrical neck, decorated using underglaze blue with a continuous scene of a dragon flying through scrolling clouds in pursuit of a flaming pearl, a second dragon rising from the waves below, the neck with a border of lingzhi heads, the base with an apocryphal Hongwu nianzhi mark, covered overall with a clear crackled glaze; stopper.
2 1/4in ( 5.7cm) high
Footnotes:
十九世紀 青花瓷胎畫龍雲海水紋鼻煙壺一件
或爲景德鎮製

Provenance:
Manatee Galleries, FL., March 10, 2013
Joan and Ted Dorf Collection, no. 417

The rising popularity of snuff bottles outside the Palace in the nineteenth century resulted in a flood of snuff bottles of many varied materials available to snuff takers across the country. That so many were produced in underglaze cobalt-blue porcelain is no surprise, especially given the sheer number of kilns operating in Jingdezhen.

Slightly soiled and rough foot rim; good overall crackle with a dynamic dragon in clouds.