合
華 行
Hop
Wah Antiques & Arts Co.
Unit 1506, 15/F. Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Tel:2316-2978 e – Mail: hopwahant@hotmail.com
Inside-painted snuff bottle
The taking of snuff, a social habit originating in the West, appears
to have reached China in the late 16th century. With the banning of
opium in the 17th year of the Daoguang reign (1837), snuff became even more
popular, and continued to be used until the 1930’s .
Originally the snuff boxes, by which the user carried his snuff, were
made of metal, even gold, but enterprising Chinese artisans started making
snuff bottles of varying materials: pottery, porcelain, metal, jade, ivory
etc. often decorating them with exquisite painting , carving or inlay. Later
materials included agate, crystal and glass, and in the late 19th century
the technique of inside-painting was mastered.
Snuff bottles, being individually crafted rather than mass-produced,
became symbols of status and prestige, their design and material of manufacture
only limited by the skill and ingenuity of the maker. It is unlikely that
inside-painted snuff bottles were designed to be used for holding snuff,
as the spoon would have damaged the artistry, an important point for today’s
collectors to remember, as it is advisable to ensure that the spoon has been
detached from the lid.
Inside-painting artists use a special mini-brush made of weasel’s
hair, attached at right-angles to tiny bamboo handles. The paints used on
the better quality pieces are traditional painting oils, and the artist will
usually be very selective with the choice of bottle, preferring walls of
even thickness, with smooth polished exterior surfaces. The inside surface
must first be roughened to ensure good adherence of the paint.
The artist must visualize what his picture will look like from the
outside, as he or she is painting from the inside in reverse. Some artists
will make a preliminary drawing on paper, before attempting the much more
difficult task of painting inside the bottle. The artist will usually commence,
as in traditional Chinese painting style, with an outline of the subject
with thick and thin ink, to lay a foundation for the application of colours.
Great care must be taken, as mistakes are extremely difficult, if not impossible,
to correct. An outline drawing is the key to good painting.
The artist must then consider the effect of all intended colours in
every part of the subject, blending the colours so as to achieve a happy
balance of contrasts and tones, while maintaining the correct perspective;
a difficult technique when one appreciates the artist is working in reverse.
The finishing touch to the work will usually be a suitable inscription,
placed so as to complement, rather than compete with, the artistry. The Chinese
describe this technique as “painting beginning from the whole to the parts
and ending with the parts to the whole”. An approximate translation of the
Chinese words to describe the inside-painting technique is variously “ghost’s
axe” or “God’s work”, such is the esteem with which Chinese collectors view
these masterpieces.
Since the 1950’s there has been a resurgence of interest in “inside-painting”,
new techniques have been discovered and developed, and new materials used.
Collectors
should not be surprised to find this type of painting only on glass snuff
bottle, but also
on eggshell thin vases and balls, or on snuff bottles of agate and crystal,
either natural or man-made. Several schools are now operating in differing
provinces in China, and a number of artists are specializing in a particular
style: eg landscape or portraits.
The standard of painting has attained new levels, and with the top
bottles taking several weeks to produce, some of these bottles become “collector’s
pieces” from the day they are finished. The affixation of the artist’s signature
and /or seal, together with the year of manufacture, will surely mean there
will be a collectors’ market for these artworks for generations to come.
And today’s junior painter may some day become tomorrow’s grand master.
For an English language book on the subject, collectors may like to
obtain:
“A New Look Of Chinese Inside Painted Snuff Bottles” by Yang Xin Xuan
Art Books Co.
