THE CHINESE
COLLECTION
Liu Hai
Snuff Bottle
A
Jingdezhen moulded porcelain snuff bottle
with a metal stopper.
B77
Porcelain, painted in enamels and moulded in the form of Liu Hai, standing with
one foot raised, clutching a string of cash and carrying a scaly three-legged
toad on his shoulder.
Chinese, Jingdezhen
Jiaqing Period, 1796-1821
Stopper: Porcelain
Provenance: Erik Hancock
Redge Cooper, 1976
Height: 7.2cm
Liu Hai is the patron saint of commercial enterprise and along with his
three-legged toad is always in search of cash. This is an extremely unusual
mould: Liu Hai's raised foot means that the tiny area of one foot is the point
of balance for the bottle: a real masterpiece of engineering. The painting is
extremely well detailed showing a smiling Liu Hai, happy to have found some
cash.
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