Lot 192

[PRIVATE ENGLISH COLLECTION] CHINESE INSIDE-PAINTED 'PLAYING CATS' GLASS SNUFF BOTTLES

FAMILY OF MA SHAOXUAN (1867–1939), DATED 1909

Fine Asian Works of Art

Auction: 06 November 2026 from 10:00 GMT

Estimate: £700 - £900

Description

馬少宣家族 1909年（己酉）玻璃內畫雙歡圖鼻煙壺

of compressed form, painted on one side with two cats playing amorously, titled 'Picture of a Happy Pair', reverse inscribed with a thirty-two-character poem by Su Dongpo, dated to Ji You year, corresponding to 1909AD, signature and a seal of the artist, with a red stopper

Dimensions

6.1cm high without stopper

Provenance

Private English collection, London; inherited from the artist Lottie Davis, by repute gifted to her by the Office of the Chargé d’Affaires in Beijing in the mid-20th century.

英格蘭私人收藏，倫敦；繼承自藝術家洛蒂・戴維斯（Lottie Davis），據傳其於20世紀中葉由北京大使館贈予。

Footnote

Ma Shaoxuan was a prominent Beijing-school inside-painted snuff bottle artist who appears to have operated a family workshop, with relatives occasionally producing bottles under his name. The workshop produced a considerable number of miniature snuff bottles, often featuring relatively simple decorative subjects, suggesting that some may have been executed by family members. While Ma Shaoxuan was responsible for the designs, individual family members may have specialised in particular subjects or contributed paintings and calligraphy in his style.

Compare to three inside-painted snuff bottles, with the same combination of painting and poem as the present lot, one by the Family of Ma Shaoxuan, sold at Bonhams New York, 13 November 2017, lot 8016; one by Ma Shaoxuan, sold at the same saleroom as above, 21 September 2021, lot 431. Several other bottles with the same painting, but different poms at reserve: one sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 20 December 2024, lot 1109; one sold at same as above, 27 May 2012, lot 100; the last sold at Bonhams New York, 21 September 2021, lot 429.