A RARE INSIDE-PAINTED MINIATURE GLASS ‘PLAYING CATS’ SNUFF BOTTLE, MA SHAOXUAN(the smaller companion

A RARE INSIDE-PAINTED MINIATURE GLASS ‘PLAYING CATS’ SNUFF BOTTLE, MA SHAOXUAN(the smaller companion to the previous lot) Glass. China, dated 1900Inscription (translated): Visiting a scholar in Luoyang, I found him gone to exile in Jiangliang. I heard that plums blossom earlier there, but how could they compare to our spring here? (The two verses are from the Tang dynasty poet Meng Haoran's poem Failing to meet Yuan, the imperial censor, in Luoyang.) In the summer of the gengzi year (1900) Ma ShaoxuanSeal: Shaoxuan Shape: Flattened rectangular form with rounded shouldersHollowing: StandardMouth, neck and lip: Cylindric neck with flat top and small mouthBase: Oval with raised foot rimStopper: Coral with nice patina and incised bronze mounting, remainders of fire gildingHeight of the bottle with stopper: 4.6 cmWidth of the mouth: 5 mmWidth of the neck: 11 mmCondition: Excellent, the top with minor material deterioration, not visible without lifting the stopperProvenance: Hugh M. Moss (old labels to base). Amercian Private collectionLiterature comparison: The National Palace Museum of Taipei, Lifting the Spirit and Body: The Art and Culture of Snuff Bottles, lot III-108. (for an almost identical version of the miniature bottle) Hugh M. Moss, Snuff Bottles of China, lot 342 (Moss describes the animals as ‘Siberian Tigers’ - the bottle is almost identical) SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE MARY & GEORGE BLOCH COLLECTION: PART VIII. Sotheby’s, May 26 2014, HONG KONG, lot 1135. (for an almost identical bottle) Henry C. Hitt, Old Chinese Snuff Bottles, page 35 (for a more detailed description of the subject).Expertise: Alexander Zacke罕見玻璃內畫貓戲圖小鼻煙壺, 馬少宣款(跟上面大一點的鼻煙壺成對)玻璃中國, 約1900 年畫兩貓草間戲圖, 活躍如生, 題雙歡圖三個字. 背面提詩24字. 馬少宣款. 馬少宣印褪色形狀：平面長方形, 削肩掏膛：規整瓶口、頸、瓶唇： 圓柱頸, 平頭, 小口底足：橢圓, 足邊突出蓋: 古雅珊瑚在金屬坐, 幾處剩餘鑲金高（帶蓋）：4.6厘米口徑：0.5厘米頸部直徑：1.1厘米狀態敘述：完善, 頭部一小處材料變形, 提蓋才看得到來源：Hugh M. Moss (舊收藏標籤在底). 美國私人舊藏文獻: The National Palace Museum of Taipei, Lifting the Spirit and Body: The Art and Culture of Snuff Bottles, 編號III-108. Hugh M. Moss, Snuff Bottles of China, 編號342. SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE MARY & GEORGE BLOCH COLLECTION: PART VIII. Sotheby’s, 2014年5月26日, HONG KONG, 編號1135. Henry C. Hitt, Old Chinese Snuff Bottles, 頁35.