Some Like It Small

[rpfstoneman]

This is a thin walled porcelain snuff bottle with a warm cream crackled glaze of soft-paste with 5 under glaze blue (shi) lions playing with a brocade ball.  The bottom foot is glazed in the same manner with no mark.  The unglazed raised foot ring is stained in a bronze colored wash.  The bottle is just 5.2 cm (2 inches) in height without the stopper and 2 cm wide.  The stopper is a translucent orange glass bead with a collar of old opaque red glass.  Though the interior is completely glazed and clean, a faint hint of an aromatic snuff remains.

These bottles are reported to be from the Daoquang period (1821-1850).  This bottle is a very close match to a Gerry P. Mack Collection bottle, Lot 348, sold at Sotheby's on 10/25/1997.



I’ve read that many of these small bottle designs may have been made for and preferred by the feminine gender.  Though I do not have anymore information as to why there was such desire or need for bottles that are 2 inches and less in size.   Charll

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

Dear Charll,
I have found your bottle absolutely interesting. As a Chinese ceramic lover you know that that bronze colored foot is usually referred to Song pieces and their replicas. It is the first time that I see this on a piece not related to Song ware (being it original or copy). Very interesting. Who knows this have some relation with the feminine destination of this bottle, a kind of embellishment.
The size remind me my five roosters bottle, although that one is more fat.
Kind regards
Giovanni

[Pat - 查尚杰]

Charll

Smaller hands among Chinese females in those days, .. would seem a plausible explanation for the smaller size bottles.  The general average size and height has gone up significantly in the past century or so.

Very nice bottle!

[Wattana]

I only noticed this thread after Giovanni re-opened it today. Nice bottle, Charll.

Interestingly, auction catalogues prior to the mid-1970s often described smaller bottles as "ladies' bottles". Then, at some point in the late 70s the term was ridiculed by a few well-established collectors. Can't remember for sure, but Bob Stevens may have started it in his book. Anyhow, the term was dropped after that like a hot potato.

Nonetheless, Chinese ladies DID use snuff, so at least SOME of the bottles must have been made with the female gender in mind.
 

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

Dear Charll, all,
this of the small bottles being possibly intended for the ladies is an interesting argument, worth to further discuss it I think. So I think that you Charll do not mind if I take the opportunity to post more possibly examples here, as I think that this thread is most appropriate for that.
As Tom, said, women do sniff too. It was very common here in North Italy in the past. Today the habit has almost gone but many old woman do remember that.
To my Western eyes, I think that there are high probability that some small bottles was intended for the feminine use, considering also the more gentle shape etc.
I am posting here three of my small bottles, hard to believe that they was intended for man to my eyes. They are compared with a standard sized glass bottle. As you can see they are about a bit more than one inch. The left one is made into a natural acorn with coral stopper. Then a small amber bottle carved as a basquet and a small metal one, with a threaded metal stem that act as stopper and spoon.
Kind regards
Giovanni

[Wattana]

Dear Giovanni,

All three small bottles in your photograph are unusual and very attractive. There are 4-5 miniature fruit shape bottles in the Blair Collection (see Michael Hughes' book), which are part of a series made of porcelain (or possibly enameled metal, I cannot remember). Your gilt-metal one reminds me of them.

I think there is a parallel to be drawn between mini snuff bottles and miniature revolvers of 19th-century America, of which Derringer was a famous maker. These revolvers were traditionally treated as ladies' guns, because they were small enough to carry in a woman's purse. However, that did not prevent men from carrying them too, perhaps when they wanted to be discreet about carrying a weapon, or if they wanted to keep it inside a jacket pocket instead of a holster. In the same way, we might say that miniature snuff bottles were a natural choice for ladies, but may have been used equally by both sexes in practice.

Tom

Giovanni, is the small acorn a real nut, or carved from wood to appear like an acorn?

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

dear Tom,
I fully agree with your understanding about this matter.
The acorn one is a real acorn. Here are some pictures of the above bottles.
Kind regards
Giovanni

[Wattana]

Thank you Giovanni.
They really are unusual. I especially like the metal one......a very delicate design.

Tom

[Steven]

I agree with Tom,

I love the metal one as well.

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

Dear Tom and Steven,
looking more carefully at the metal bottle last night, I have seen that it is made of copper. At this point being it a soft material I will try to improve the bump.
As you probably know I did start my collection with a group of bottles that I bought from an old collector. Recently I have added another group of bottles that I bought from the widow of another collector. The amber and the metal bottles seen here belongs from the second group, the acorn one from the first group.
The best bottles of the first group I still have to post here in the forum.
Beside these bottles in the next months I should manage to buy from the lady the second part of the collection, that I have not yet seen, with the best bottles according to her. I know that in that group there are three hornbill bottles.
Giovanni