Molded Porcelain Snuff Bottle with Cranes and Lotus, Apocryphal Qianlong Mark

Object/Artifact

-

The Curio Cabinet Collection

Name/Title

Molded Porcelain Snuff Bottle with Cranes and Lotus, Apocryphal Qianlong Mark

Entry/Object ID

SB3612

Description

Highly sculptural Chinese porcelain snuff bottle modeled as an auspicious composition of a large fish surrounded by two cranes and lotus plants. The complex molded and applied relief is decorated in polychrome enamels with gilt detailing, while the reverse emphasizes the fish's patterned body and tail among large lotus leaves. The imagery combines traditional symbols of longevity, purity, harmony, and abundance: cranes are associated with long life, lotus carries auspicious associations including purity and harmony, and fish evoke abundance or surplus through the Chinese rebus yu. The recessed base bears an underglaze-blue four-character Qianlong nian zhi (乾隆年製) mark, considered apocryphal.

Category

Chinese snuff bottle

Made/Created

Artist

Maker presently unidentified

Time Period

20th Century

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Continent

Asia

Culture/Tribe

Chinese

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Underglaze-blue four-character mark reading 乾隆年製 (Qianlong nian zhi), “Made in the Qianlong reign.” Considered apocryphal rather than period.

Dimensions

Height

3 in

Width

1-7/8 in

Depth

7/8 in

Weight

56 g

Materials

Material

Porcelain

Material Notes

With molded/applied relief decoration, polychrome enamels and gilt decoration

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Acquisition

Acquisition Method

Purchase