B75

Porcelain, covered with a creamy-white enamel; moulded and reticulated with the design of Fo lions chasing beribboned brocade balls; set against a wave design the base and shoulders surrounded by ruyi lappets and the neck with a key-fret border; the base with an iron red Jiaqing mark.

Chinese, Jingdezhen
Jiaqing period, 1796-1820
Stopper: Porcelain, matching and original
Provenance: Sotheby's, 1974
Height: 6.3cm

This type of moulded and reticulated porcelain may have been a response to the carved ivory and lacquer snuff bottles of the Qianlong period (1736-95). The craftsmen at Jingdezhen made monochrome copies of ivory and lacquer bottles by making moulds based on an original piece, which would then be used a number of times to create a bottle. This is a good crisp impression from the mould and so would be an early example. The matching original stopper from the same period is also attractive.