Lot 22

[COLLECTION OF PROF. J. GILBERT & CORA MCALLISTER] TWO CHINESE MOULDED BISCUIT PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLES

QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY

Fine Asian Works of Art

Auction: 07 November 2025 from 10:00 GMT

Estimate: £300 - £500

Description

清瓷胎模製白釉心形花卉紋及綠白釉海水龍紋鼻煙壺（共兩件）

one white-glazed heart-shaped snuff bottle moulded in low to mid relief on both sides with a string of flower heads under a shou longevity character against key-fret ground; the other green-splashed white enamelled pear-shaped snuff bottle moulded in high relief with a large scaly dragon with carved details and bulging eyes highlighted in black enamel, amidst clouds above waves; both with stopper (2)

Dimensions

heights: 6.6cm and 7.1cm; 7.3cm and 7.8cm with stopper

Provenance

Collection of Prof. J. Gilbert & Cora McAllister, thence by descent based in England. With collector's handwritten note and Collector's Number 34 and 66. The heart-shaped one (34) acquired from Dunt King in Hong Kong via Joseph Jones in 1966, with original invoice issued on 3rd June 1966, listed as “([no.]7, 1 pce. White glazed porcelain snuff bottle, heart form, with bamboo like carving, carved silver top, 19th century, [HK$] 100.00”. Together with Joseph Jones' hand-drawing of the snuff bottle and a letter to Gilbert & Cora on the University of Hong Kong, Department of English titled paper on 7th June 1966.

Dr. J. Gilbert McAllister (1904–1993) was Emeritus Professor in Anthropology at the University of Texas. Primarily a cultural anthropologist, he also carried out significant archaeological research. Cora McAllister (1904-1995) graduated from the University of Texas in 1924 as a Member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1933–1934, she and Gilbert lived amongst Kiowa-Apache Indians in Oklahoma, where Gilbert conducted field research. In 1935, Gilbert was lured back to the University of Texas, where, by 1935, he became Chairman of the department and head of a large archaeological program. There, Gilbert (or Dr. Mac as he was affectionately known by his students) made his name as an archaeological administrator and especially as a remarkable teacher for over 33 years until his retirement in 1968. In a Memorial Resolution Committee Memorandum, it is noted that he had a “massive integrity about him” and “we talk about role models these days. He was one of the good ones.”

Cora and Gilbert’s large and eclectic collection was informed by a deep love for Asian cultures and antiquities, coupled with a scholarly approach. Their collection spanned vast time periods, materials, and included cultures of China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and more. The collection was mostly acquired in the 1960s and 1970s, variously from Cora and Gilbert’s friends and fellow academics who made trips to Asia (some of whom were commissioned specifically by Gilbert), their usual dealers and contacts, as well as from fellow collectors.

For more information about Dr and Ms McAllister, please visit: https://shaybo-therisingtide.blogspot.com/2014/08/j-gilbert-mcallister-memorial.html?m=1

Footnote

Several moulded biscuit porcelain leaf-form snuff bottles, comparable to the present heart-shaped one: one dated to 1800-1850, exhibited and illustrated in Zhongguo bi yan hu Chinese snuff bottles: Hong Kong Museum of Art 15 Oct.-26 Nov. 1977, 1977. p. 44 no 68; and one in the J & J collection, dated 1770-1840, illustrated in Moss et al., The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, the J & J Collection, volume 1, no 236; another was in the property of Dr. Martin Roshco, dated to 1780-1830, was sold at Bonhams New York, 20 March 2012, lot 29.

For moulded biscuit porcelain ‘dragon’ pear-shaped snuff bottle, see comparable examples: one very similar in green-splashed white enamelled glaze, inscribed with Wang Bingrong mark and dated to 19th century, was in the property from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, New York, and sold at Christie's New York, 27 Mar 2018, lot 90; the other covered in pale green yellow enamelled, School of Wang Bingrong, Jingdezhen Kilns, was in the Ruth and Carl Barron Collection and sold at Christie's New York, 14 Sep 2016, lot 496 (part lot).