AN INSIDE-PAINTED ROCK CRYSTAL SNUFF BOTTLE
Ma Shaoxuan, 1895
Of rounded rectangular form standing on an oval footrim, with a cylindrical neck and flat lip; one side painted with an atmospheric landscape depicting mountains rising from drifting clouds in the distance, fronted with an arching bridge crossing a peaceful lake with two figures, each seated in their sampan enjoying a moment of serene stillness, the winding bank covered with trees and shrubs, the reverse decorated with two swallows darting towards a graceful floating branch bearing blooming apricot flowers; the upper inscribed in regular script with a line of poetry matching the depicted scene, dedicated for the approval of Yusheng, an honorable elder brother, dated yiwei (1895), signed Ma Shaoxuan followed by one seal mark painted in red.
2 1/2in (6.3cm) high
Footnotes:
乙未年 (1895) 馬少宣 水晶内畫雙燕杏花及山水人物鼻煙壺一件
《馬少宣》款

Provenance:
Joan and Ted Dorf Collection, no. 19

Ma Shaoxuan was born in 1867 and began painting bottles professionally when he was eighteen. According to his grandson, Ma Zengshan, who authored Ma's biography, he started painting after seeing examples of bottles that a relative, who was an antique dealer, owned. By 1895, Ma's work had reached its heights artistically and he was well-known in Beijing, and often called upon for commissions.