Lot 198

[PRIVATE ENGLISH COLLECTION] RARE CHINESE INSIDE-PAINTED 'EXOTIC ANIMAL' GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE

SIGNED YE ZHONGSAN (1875-1945), YE FAMILY STUDIO, DATED 1954

Fine Asian Works of Art

Auction: 06 November 2026 from 10:00 GMT

Estimate: £800 - £1,200

Description

葉仲三款（葉氏家族）1954年（甲午）玻璃內畫野獸圖鼻煙壺

of flattened form, painted with a continuous landscape with a lion, a deer, a bear and a camel, dated to the second month of the Jia Wu year, corresponding to 1954AD, signed and with a seal of the artist, with a green stopper

Dimensions

6.2cm 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

Ye Zhongsan (1875–1945) was a renowned Beijing master of inside-painted snuff bottles and one of the leading artists of the late Qing dynasty to Republic Period. He was known for his broad range of subjects, including figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, insects, and scenes from classical literature. His works are distinguished by their strong, vivid colours, lively compositions and refined brushwork, earning him a reputation for being both elegant and accessible. Alongside Zhou Leyuan and Ma Shaoxuan, he is regarded as one of the foremost masters of the Beijing school of inside-painted snuff bottles. The art of Ye Zhongsan was subsequently continued by his sons, who helped transmit and develop the Ye school of inside painting and influenced later generations of artists.

A comparable example of an inside-painted brown crystal snuff bottle, similarly painted with exotic animals of lion, oryx, tiger and bear, signed Ye Zhongsan but by his son Ye Xiaofeng in the family workshop, dated 1948, the bottle of 1760-1880, previously in the J&J collection, sold at Christie's New York, 29 Mar 2006, lot 19.