Description
Description: Chinese porcelain snuff bottle molded and painted in polychrome enamels with a dragon and the Eighteen Luohan, each with his attribute, standing on clouds against a formalized wave ground. The bottle was converted into a cigarette lighter by an unknown Maquet-style Company, which did a superb job. In fact the metal lid, collar and base are enameled in fine champlevé technique, representing Chinese classic motifs, silver plated on a bright blue enameled background. The Chinese motifs are Shou symbol, bamboo, phoenix, crab, prunus, dragon, pair of fishes, but in evident Western style.
Mark:
Dating: Second half of 19th century
Material: Porcelain, molded and painted with overglaze polychrome enamels.
Size: 70 mm high
Stopper: Brass stopper, silver plated and enameled in champlevé technique. Bone spoon.
Provenance: Antiquarian market
References: Among the bottles that was converted into cigarette lighters in the West, this is the only one that we have seen up to now bearing a champlevé fitting, and in Chinese style.
Notes: At certain point in its history, this bottle went to Europe or USA, where it was converted into a cigarette lighter. Despite missing a factory mark, it is clear that the conversion was made in the West, due to the style of the motifs. Later on, the bottle went back to the East, where we have bought it, and where it was submitted to a tentative of re-converting it back into a snuff bottle, by inserting a bone spoon on the top of the lighter’ stem. Nevertheless, it has been an apparent and not functional re-conversion, because the bottle is still filled inside with the cotton wool type fibers which are usually found inside those cigarette lighters.
About bottles adapted as cigarettes lighters, see the Notes of the stone snuff bottle S4.
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