Dear Tom B.,
I learned from YF Yang that the market for 'Yangzhou Seal School' bottles was fueled by the scholar-collector desires (pretensions?) of the wealthy salt merchants, who wanted to emulate the Literati scholar-collectors, but were limited in collecting and owning certain objects and materials due to sumptuary laws during the late Ming and the Qing dynasties. We know the salt merchants were wealthy and developing refined tastes in the 17th and 18th C.; by the mid-19th C., their wealth and ability to buy luxury goods was on the wane.
Who has done the new research you mentioned? If it is a certain dealer, the information is not reliable, since he is notorious for changing 'facts' to suit his mercantile needs. Whether it is Li Junting or Yunting (AKA Li Peisong), to whom certain bottles are attributed, surely you are not suggesting that ALL the bottles we refer to as Yangzhou Seal School bottles are by him and attributed to the period ? Sorry, but I find that hard to believe.
I'd love to read any info you can suggest to document WHEN Yangzhou Seal bottles were made; but till I'm convinced, I will continue with the 'old' dates of ca. 1780-1850, based on info from YF and Clare Chu.
Best,
Joey
Dear Joey, Y.T., and other knowledgeable collectors of Yangzhou school SB's,
I have been wondering just how long the glass carving tradition lasted in Yangzhou? I have seen dates as early as 1786 on overlay SB's attributed to Yangzhou.
According to the latest published research all of those early dates (circa 1800 - 1840) for 'Li Junting' bottles were erroneous.
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2003/fine-chinese-ceramics-and-works-of-art-including-fine-chinese-snuff-bottles-from-the-collection-of-ann-john-hamilton-n07881/lot.236.htmlBy the way just look at the "blue" color of that nice "Li Junting" from the Hamilton collection.
Since we now know that it was not "Junting" but rather Yunting. Yunting was the courtesy or leisure name of Li Peisong 李培松, who moved from his native Dantu to Yangzhou around 1870 and had several glass-overlay snuff bottles made bearing dates from 1877 to 1881, as well as some undated bottles. It is highly likely that SB's were made in Yangzhou at least through the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 and possibly continued well into the 20th century. But for how long? Collectors and tourists would have made at least a small demand until the upheaval of WWII circa 1940 or am I way off?
Best regards,
