Would like help in identifying IPB.

[cynthize]

Hi All, I am new to this forum and am looking forward to sharing and learning! I think Chinese snuff bottles are brilliant and am in awe of how intricate and beautiful they are. I am a very beginning collector and have two lovely antique bottles and one I just got that looks quite different from my other two. I know nothing about it, except that it is beautiful, it is bigger, 4" and far heavier. I am going to attempt to add pictures here(thanks George for the coaching, fingers crossed!) Any help would be greatly appreciated : )
Thank you,
Cynthia

[George]

Warm welcome to the forum Cynthia !    Glad you found us.. !

Going to let one of the other members help you with deciphering the characters/script..

Really lovely bottles though.. !

Before I toss my two cents worth in, could you snap a couple more pics.

One looking directly down from the top of the bottle showing the opeing in the mouth of it,  and also one from the bottom/base looking up towards the top of the bottle...

I bet others here have seen this type of beveled base before, but I have not.. Kind of nice !

Also.. Is there a painting on the rear of each of these, and is there any paintings on the sides ?

[cynthize]

Thank you for the welcome! Sorry, I think my original posting was unclear, the pictures of the bottle are of the one in question, one side is the front and the other is the back. I have two other bottles that I will post later : ) I will take the photos of the top and bottom as you suggest George, Thanks!

[Pat - 查尚杰]

The first image is Boddhisvata (Buddha) in early Chinese depiction, the second one is Guanjin (Kwanjin), the first female to achieve enlightenment (if I am not mistaken) and very revered in China.  The characters are too faint for me to make out anyhting on the writing.

Welcome Cynthia!  This appears to be man made crystal and without any other clearer text or dating info on the bottle itself(others can help or chime in), I would date it to 70s/80s.  Nice bottle!

[George]

This is fun.... 

Found the following that seems to closely fit the second painting..

I found an image of a Byakue Kannon who is typically shown as male. Apparently there are texts describing esoteric forms of Byakue Kannon with various attributes.
 
It sort of looks like your bottle painting shows what appears could be a willow branch/twig being held in one hand. In Shingonin, and Esoteric Buddhist has within the imperial palace compound also holds a willow branch in one hand. Apparently originating from the fact that from the Tang dynasty ( 618 - 907 ) on, there appears to have been a ritual of offering Kannon a willow branch in a vase of pure water to ward off evil.

It also could be that the Budhist in your painting is sitting on what could be the mountain known to be a Japanese paradise called Fudarakusen.  Literally "Mt Fudaraku." Fudaraku is the Japanese transliteration of Sanskrit Potalaka. It is commonly thought to be an island-mountain paradise located near the Southern tip of India, which suggests that Kannon originated in Southern India. In Japanese statuary and painting, Kannon is sometimes shown sitting atip an octagonal island-mountain or atop a rock.. Again, very much like the painting within your bottle. This is meant to symbolize the Fudarakusen holy land..
 


Here is another image.. Another similarity between both these images and your bottle painting is the floral tatoos on the chest.



Just my best guess...... ! 

[cynthize]

Wow, great information, so much more than I was hoping for, thank you! Love the picture you posted, so very much like mine, I think you are onto something there. I do think the bottle is man made crystal, good call! This is so much fun for me : ) I am again going to attempt to post another picture here, a close up of of the chinese characters, with the hope that someone can tell me what they say as I would dearly love to know. This is the front of the bottle:

[Pat - 查尚杰]

Cynthia, seems I was correct about date.  It is made in 1984. 1924 would be impossible as bottles like this did not exist back then.  The other characters I cant read.  Someone who is better in Chinese can help u here I am sure.

[George]

Found this Japanese Buddhist scroll painting depicting the Welcoming Descent of the Amida Buddha from the Western Paradise to earth that could represent other side of your bottle..



He stands on lotus flowers on swirling white clouds.

Apparently, originally he would have been flanked by the bodhisattvas Seishi and "Kannon". So if the other side of this bottle is in fact that of Kannon then Amida would be a good canidate for this other painting on your bottle.

Amida Buddha is a personification expressing that which is incomprehensible. This inconceivable transcendent realm is called Dharmakaya, which is Sanskrit meaning ‘the body of truth.’ This word points to the non-conceptual ultimate dimension and the true nature of things including ourselves. Amida Buddha in turned is the sambhogakaya or the compassionate expression of this formless transcendent realm. She gives us a concrete image that helps us to understand that which is beyond understanding. Amida is also synonymous with the terms One Life, the Great Compassion and Buddha Nature. As stated above, Amida is a personification or symbol of ultimate reality and must be understood that ultimate reality is beyond the word and idea of Amida, who is the vehicle that allows us to experience the incomprehensible reality of our true nature.

Another painting of Amida that really shows the swirling clouds much like your bottle painting !



One last image ....

[Peter Bentley 彭达理]

Hi  Cynthia

Are you  the  Cynthia   with  whom  I have  recently exchanged many   rainbow emails?

Anyway,  warm  welcome to the   Forum.

I agree  with  Pat that the   date  is  1984  ( or   1924  or   1864, neither  is    which  is   likely)

The   other  characters   mean  inviting  good  luck / the   Buddah  into  one's  home/ life  (  Richard    from Singapore  will in due  course   give an exact  translation)

But  there  is no artist  signature

Also  agree that the   figurines  are  a Buddha  and  a  traditional  Chinese  goddess, as  per   other   comments.  
These  are very  common themes  on  IPBs , whenever painted

Cheers   Peter

[cynthize]

Thanks for the warm welcomes, very nice to meet you all! Such a great wealth of information here, thank you all for helping. The images are brilliant and do match the ones on my bottle, so great to know what's going on. And thanks all for the dating help @ Peter, Not the same Cynthia you have been sharing emails with, but lovely to meet you and thank you for your help! Thank you to Pat as well for the dating help! Would love to see pictures of anyone's IPBs, they are all so unique and beautiful
Cynthia

[George]

Would love to see pictures of anyone's IPBs

You can browse a lot of bottles within the IPB board...

There is a lot to see ! 

[Peter Bentley 彭达理]

Hi Cynthia

If  you  delve  back  into the  archives   you  will  find a  lot of bottle  pics. Also a  link to  Richard Baey's  facebook  page  where he has posted a lot of his  bottles

I  am still  in the  process  of    trying to  photgraph my collection, and it  will be a  year  or more before the  project is finished.

Might  I  ask ( on behalf  of  all us)  :   what country  you live in  and  how  did you  get involved in snuff bottle  collecting?
And how  many bottles  do you  have  and what  kind of bottles ?

I live  in Hong Kong and   work on China . I have  about   250 bottles ,  all  Modern  IPBs  in Chinese  landscape  themes  (  + a  few cats, spiders and  birds)

Cheers  Peter

[richy88]

 Hi Cynthia

Welcome to the forum!

Yes, your bottle are painted with Buddha on one side and Guanyin on the other.

There is no signature on it, but just the inscription text "Made in Jia Zi Nian" which corresponds to 1984.

The paintings of such deities are quite common in Chinese arts.

Interestingly, Guanyin is a localised version in China. The deity was original presented in male form from the Sanskrit in India but was transformed to the female form in China and worship as the Goddess of Mercy.

I do have some bottles on the same subject. You are most welcome to take a look at them in my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/richardbaey under my Photo Albums. However, as they are shared only to friends, you may have to be my friend before viewing them.

Enjoy!


Richard