Chinese Snuff Bottle Discussion Forum 中國鼻煙壺討論論壇

Hi All,

I wanted to share an inside painted bottle I acquired recently. As most will know, I don't generally collect IP bottles, but this one offered by David Osborne caught my eye......

Inside painted lead crystal snuff bottle of flattened rounded rectangular shape, with cylindrical neck, flat lip, and a flat recessed base surrounded by an oval footrim; painted on each side with a landscape scene featuring a pavilion by a lake or river, set amongst trees, with mountains in the background; signed Zhen Yu 振宇, 2012.  Carnelian stopper with a black vinyl collar.

Height w/o stopper:   7.5 cm

Beijing School, Hengshui City, September 2012

Zhen Yu 振宇 is the hao or pen name of inside painting artist Pan Jiafang 潘家芳. A versatile artist of the Beijing School, Zhen Yu is perhaps better known for his series of bottles depicting scenes from 'The Journey to the West', featuring stories involving the charismatic Monkey King.   

Enjoy!

PS:If anyone can translate the inscriptions for me, I'd be grateful.

Dear Tom,

      Beautiful landscape! Congratulations.
I have 2 Zhen Yu bottles myself, and did not know that this is the hao of
Pan Jiafang. I will add that to my documentation.
Thank you,
Joey

Dear Joey,

If you have some of his bottles they must be more collectible than I imagined.  :)
Do you remember what the subject matter is on your two?

Best,
Tom

Beautiful bottle Tom, congratulations  !

Hi Tom

Based on the 3rd photo, the title reads 'Shan Qing Shui Xiu', which means Beautiful Scenery. Unfortunately, the artist signature doesn't match that of Zhen Yu. It is signed Yuan Zheng (远征) in traditional script, an artist which I have no record.

The 4th photo reads Home in the Mountains with a date that corresponds to 2012.

In this case, I wonder why the bottle was attributed to Zhen Yu?

For your reference.

Regards.


Richard

Hi Richard,

Many thanks for the translations.

Well, that's a surprise about the artist's name!  It was sold to me by David Osborne as being by Zhen Yu, and I'm sure he bought it thinking the same. It even came in a box with a label from the studio in Hengshui....!  See below.

Regards,
Tom

Tom,

I like landscape bottles and this is a nice one!

Congrats,

Rube.

Thanks George and Rube,

Now my curiosity is piqued to find out who Yuan Zheng is....! Could it be another hao for Pan Jiafang?

Tom

Hi Tom

As far as I am aware, Zhen Yu only use 2 names in his bottles: Zhen Yu or Fan Jiafang.

I can ask him who is this Yuan Zheng. Probably a case of mis-labelled bottle!

Will keep you posted.

Regards.


Richard

Thanks Richard!

Regards,

Tom

Hi Tom

Good news!

I have contacted Zhen Yu and he confirmed that Yuan Zheng is also his pen name. He seldom uses it and only in his earlier works.

So, you got yourself a genuine and uncommon Zhen Yu's bottle. Congrats!

Regards.


Richard

Thanks Richard,

Good news indeed!
That's made my day....and set me right for the long wekend ahead...!   :D

Regards,
Tom

Tom,

I do not understand how I missed that bottle when it was up for sale by David.  :'(    This type of landscape design is high in my wheel-house for collecting.  Nice to see it went to a good home otherwise.

Richard,

Thanks for that conformation Yuan Zheng as a pen.  Zhen Yu has been one of my favored artists and I have 5 of his bottles that I've purchased from David Osborn over the years.  Most of mine are dragon designs.

Charll

Dear Tom,

     I mis-spoke; or my cataloguing is really a SNAFU.  ::) :o ;D
I actually have 5 bottles by Pan Jaifang (or is it Fan Jaifang?).
1. 2 Landscape scenes, in glass, bought in Oct.2003, via Su Fengyi, cost US$400
2. 2 'Four Wangs' style landscapes, in glass, from Dec.2004 via David Osborne
3. 2 Landscape scenes, in rutilated quartz, bought in Oct.2006, via Su Fengyi
4. 2 Landscape scenes, in glass, from 2007, bought in 2014 from Rick R. (he bought from David Osborne in 2008)
5.  2 very colourful modernist style Landscape scenes, in quartz, ca. 2004-2006, bought in 2015 from Rick R. (he bought from David Osborne in 2007). This one is a joint effort, by Zhenyu and his wife, Li Zhen.

Best,
Shabbat Shalom,
Joey

Hi All

David  Osborne  bought  all his  bottles  in the  early  2000s ,  so it's  quite  likely some were  signed  Yuan Zheng

David  also had very  close  contact  with Pan Jiafang / Yu Zhen  so  it's  impossible  that  he  would  have a  sold  a  bottle  by  another  artist  under the name  of  Pan  Jiafang

Anyway,  as  Richard  has  now  confirmed, Yuan Zheng  is  an  early  art  name  of  Pan Jiafang

BTW:  lovely bottle  Tom !

Cheers

Peter


PS:  Joey   - for  artist correct  names  and  art  names, both  pinyin  and  chinese  characters  - please  do use  the  data  base  I sent  you !     That's  what it's there  for  !

Dear Peter,

      My question - is it Pan Jiafang or Fan Jiafang? - is based on Richard's post yesterday, when the artist's name is rendered 'Fan Jiafang'.
Since Richard is a native Chinese speaker etc., I want to be sure.
Best,
Shabbat Shalom,
Joey

Charll and Peter,
Thanks for your complimentary comments. Charll, if I ever decide to sell it, I'll let you know.

Dear Joey,
So you have five bottles painted by the same hand! Thanks for listing them all. Any chance of posting some pictures?

Best,
Tom

Hi Joey

I confirmed that the English name equivalent should be Pan Jiafang.

My apology for the typo.

Regards.


Richard

Dear Richard,

   No harm done. Thanks for the correction. Noted.
Best,
Joey

Dear Tom,

     I will get them photographed and posted. Probably after I return from London the first week of Nov. But possibly this week, if I can.
Best,
Joey

Tom and All,

Attached is a Zhen Yu landscape bottle I purchased from David Osborne in 2014.  Looks like I have a mate to your bottle Tom.  Since the scenes are the same, that is why I likely past on the bottle you purchased.

Comment from David Osborne:

This lovely landscape bottle by Zhen Yu was specially painted for me a couple of years ago along with four more of the same general theme. I asked him to select some landscape designs and not include figures or other ‘distracting’ items. This he did and the result is as you see it, clean lines and seemingly simplistic paintings. I love them but they are not proving as popular as I thought they would. So get ready for a bargain!
 
Bottle stands a slim 3.25 inches high or 8 cm

Charll

P.S.-Below is an email sent to Richard Baey and I from David following the sale of the attached bottle.  I can only presume that this bottle is signed Yuan Zheng as well.

The Landscape bottle auction by Zhen Yu is over but before finalizing things you should know what has taken place over the last week (i.e., this was Jan 2014).
 
I was emailed by a Member of the Snuff bottle Club. He is a serious collector and keeps up to date will all developments in the inside painting world of snuff bottles. He is a nice guy and would help anyone if asked. He told me that he thought this bottle was not painted by Zhen Yu and even the name on the bottle (I do not read Chinese) was not that of Zhen Yu.
 
Needless to say I started to look into this and emailed my contact , ‘Mike’ for an explanation. As I have mentioned I asked that Zhen Yu paint me a series of landscapes with no figures, just simple landscapes.
 
The first email I received from Mike said:
 
“The bottle was painted by Zhen Yu but the name is Yuan Zheng because Zhen Yu’s price is becoming higher and higher. We got the bottles at a low price so he could not write his real name.” 
 
I then asked for more details and he replied:
 
“With regarding to the bottles by Zhen Yu, at that time we need bottles by Zhen Yu, right? So I call him and let him paint a few bottles for us. Zhen Yu and I are good friends so he has no idea to refuse me. As a result he had to paint five just and used another name, Yuan Zheng. And he will not supply us the bottles at the low price with his real name. The price of his bottle is not less than 5000 RMB ($826.00 US) or so now. If he write his real name he will not sell his bottles at a lower price. I hope you can understand”.
 
Mike also told me that the name Yuan Zheng is a made up name which I look upon as another artist name of Zhen Yu. I think the whole point of all this for Zhen Yu not to loose face but based on the following I feel that this bottle is certainly a genuine Zhen Yu bottle. 
 
I have known Mike since I started in 1999 and in hundreds, if not thousands, of transactions, I have never been deceived. I have visited China five time and spent many hours with him and his girlfriend, now wife, and his now 10 year old son. Also four out of my five visits I spent many hours with Zhen Yu discussing this craft and looking and buying his bottles. He is my favourite living artist and we were completely open with each other with Mike as my translator. Also Mike and Zhen Yu have been good friends for probably 20 years or more with Mike promoting his bottles within China and outside with me and the Snuff Bottle Club.

Charll,

You are right - it IS the twin of my bottle!

The excerpts of correspondence you have quoted appear to fit in with the comment from Zhen Yu to Richard.
It is quite understandable for an artist to wish to 'protect' his name for his high end works. Having a second hao makes good business sense. Suo Zhenhai also did this, using the name Yi Shi, although possibly for different reasons.

Tom

Dear Joey,

Many thanks! Look forward to seeing them.

Best,
Tom

Charll material is very interesting and totally understandable.
The bottles all seem to be by Pan Jiafang.
Wonderful info.
My Thanks to all,
Joey

Tom,

Attached is another landscape bottle by Zhen Yu as part of what I presume was/is a series of landscape designs that David Osborn describes.  What follows is David Osborne's commentary for the bottle which was listed up for auction in August 2013.   

This is one of a few landscape bottles Zhen Yu painted for me in 2012. I asked him to paint me landscapes without figures as invariably, in my opinion, the eyes are drawn to these characters and away from the landscape details. I received a few bottles from him with similar designs and although void of characters they are full of beauty!!
 
One of the things collectors have come to love about Zhen Yu paintings is his trees and shrubs. His technique he has drawn from the masters of a hundred years ago and perhaps Yi Zi and like great modern day artists he had created his very own style. I have tried in my pictures to show you the fantastic details in his paintings. There are at least half a dozen different styles of tree painting on the inside of this bottle. Amazing and deceivingly simplistic he makes things look so easy.

See bottle below, and this is one I did not purchase.  Charll

Another Zhen Yu bottle.  This was my first Zhen Yu purchase back in 2006, and it has remained one of my favored bottles.

This is what David Osborne had to say about it back then:

The only color in these extraordinary paintings is in the eyes!!
 
I love Independent top artist Zhen Yu's work and I was 'in heaven' when he visited me in my hotel room with a selection of his bottles. In heaven because of the amazing quality and the fact that this artist has the foresight of wanting his work known outside of China instead of charging a very high price. He knows that as his work gets known in North America, and beyond, he will reap the rewards.
 
These paintings are basically done in white and black ink and you can see just how much detail he has managed to get into this bottle. Every single one of these Six Eagles are perfection. It has to be your subject of course but if you are into Birds of Prey this could be for you. A true collectors item!
 
Bottle is 3.5 inches (9 cm) including the lovely stopper, it is very well hollowed and weighs just 2.25 oz or 65 grams

Charll

Hi  Charll, Tom

I like the  eagles  bottle - especially  the  black and  white.  One  of  Song Yiming's  classic  bottles  is very  similar (see  attached)

I'm sure  Geoff  can tell  us  exactly  which  bird  book  these bottles  are  copied   from !

I agree  with you  about   figures  distracting  one  in landscape  paintings.  I find the  same  aso  about  houses  which   many artists  like to  include (I  really  don't  know  why  because  often  the  houses  seem out of  scale  compared to the  background)

Su  Fengyi  often  paints  houses  into  his  landscapes  and I think that in almost  every case  they   lower  the  beauty  of his  bottles

Zhen Yu has  done the  same  in the  bottle  you  show  below,  Charll.

But  anyway  - each to his own taste !

Cheers

Peter (now  in Scotland  at Glen Coe - heading  for London this  weekend)

Thanks Charll,

Yes, the landscape is very similar to the other two already posted on this thread. But the 'birds of prey' bottle is really exceptional. Totally different style - hard to believe it comes from the same hand. I can see why it is one of your favourites. 

Peter,

That Song Yiming bottle is simply amazing!

Tom

Peter, I love your Eagle bottle I haven't seen one like that before, thanks. Do you live in the UK or are you  just visiting?

Regards Jason.

Hi Jason

I don't  own that  SYM  eagle  bottle .  I  got the  pic  off  a  website  (or  book -  I forget)

It's  in my  huge  data   base  of  VMIPB  pics

I originally  lived  in  UK  until  1981  when  I moved to  HK  / China  for the  rest of my  life

I happen to  be  in UK this  month  until  8  Nov  on  holiday  to  visit  my   relatives  here

Cheers

Peter