Double Cork / Yay or Nay

[George]

Have been piecing together some stoppers and spoons.

A couple of them are tall Bi Rongjiu bottles.  But finding nice long spoons that reach close to the bottom of a tall bottle like this is almost impossible.

I glued one cork on top of another, shaped and fit to a 2 1/4" long spoon.

Is the long cork just to much?

Yay, it is ok or Nay the cork is to much.

[rpfstoneman]

George,

I do not feet the long cork is an issue.  Looks good in the bottle to me.  However, would tend to question why you feel a spoon is needed for an interior painted bottle.  I would have fitted the bottle with a stopper and cork plug only. 

You have been showing some interesting spoons lately.  Do you have a source for these spoons?  I am in need of a source for spoons. 

Charll

[George]

Thanks Charll. Glad the longer cork looks ok for you.

I always want to add a spoon to IP's. Some collectors like to, and others do not.

The debate always seems to come down to each collectors liking and or beliefs. There are many members on the forum who are against it. They have fears of damaging the interior painting and others like myself don't get that perspective believing they absolutely need a spoon. Just like all bottles, porcelain, stone and others.

Back in the day when snuff taking was a daily ritual, these inside painted bottles all had spoons.

For me, dressing them up again is sort of like bringing them back to their old original glory 🙂

Yes, I have a source Charll and am patiently waiting until February 1'st when I will be ready to share that source with others. It is a project I have been working on and preparing for with another member here over the past couple of months. I am excited to finally be able and share

[Wattana]

I always want to add a spoon to IP's. Some collectors like to, and others do not.

The debate always seems to come down to each collectors liking and or beliefs. There are many members on the forum who are against it. They have fears of damaging the interior painting and others like myself don't get that perspective believing they absolutely need a spoon. Just like all bottles, porcelain, stone and others.

Back in the day when snuff taking was a daily ritual, these inside painted bottles all had spoons.

For me, dressing them up again is sort of like bringing them back to their old original glory 🙂

George,

I also feel that a snuff bottle is 'incomplete' if it doesn't have a spoon.
It's like having an attractive flower and cutting off the stamen. It just looks wrong without it! 

Tom

[George]

 Do you have a source for these spoons?  I am in need of a source for spoons. 

Charll

I added a banner to the sidebar Charll.  Hope you find some you like.

[Rube]

Nice George!

Cheers,

Rube

[Joey]

Guys, I'm STRONGLY against spoons In inside painted bottles.
These are the reasons:

1. Spoons can scratch the painting, damaging it and lowering both its aesthetic and its material value.

2. I'm sorry, but most IPSBs were NOT used for snuff after the Early Period [1790s-1850s], George.
I do have a few from that period with staining from snuff.
But many were never used that way even in the Early Period.

And almost none were used to hold snuff from the Middle [ca.1860-1948] or Modern [1949-present] periods.

If they had been, you'd see snuff staining in A LOT MORE IPSBs.
Because there is no way to clean the snuff out, once snuff has been put in.
It leaves a serious stain, light brown usually [Thank G-D!], but sometimes an ugly reddish stain.

Like that in an Early Period bottle attributed to Gan Xuan which I bought from the collection of the late Paul Braga, a good friend and mentor [Bonhams HK, 24.Nov.2012, lot 87] via my dear late friend Erick Schiesse z"l from Portland OR.
The auction was on Shabbat so I couldn't participate; and this way I gave Erick, newly married to Allison, a bit of 'parnasa' {livelihood} from the 10% commission he charged on the hammer prices.
As ASDA supermarket ads say [in the UK & Ireland] "Every little bit helps".

Best,
Joey
 

3. When I look at a landscape inside an IPSB, I DON'T want to see a straight shaft going from the heavens to the earth.
Unless it is a Space Elevator transporting people and goods cheaply between Earth and a Geosynchronous orbit space station 

Seriously, though. I try to picture myself in the beautiful rural Chinese landscape portrayed in the bottle, or watching the fish swimming so freely under water [the only way I can - I'm claustrophobic and can NOT scuba dive or even go in one of those civilian touring subs they have in Hawaii], and the spoon wrecks my ability to mentally place myself in the picture.

[OIB]

George,

Would you consider matching nice stoppers with
your IPSB instead. The shadow of a spoon behind the superb artworks
would take away the beauty the artist had originated conceived for
the bottle.

Regards
Inn Bok

[George]

George,

Would you consider matching nice stoppers with
your IPSB instead. The shadow of a spoon behind the superb artworks
would take away the beauty the artist had originated conceived for
the bottle.

Regards
Inn Bok

Yes, I do like the look of a spoon behind a painting. I feel the spoon completes the overall bottle.

Since the experiment with this extra-long spoon, I re-fit the pair with shorter matching spoons and cabochon stoppers.

[bambooforrest]

Joey and crew, I have also removed all the spoons from my inside painted bottles. Michael Chu told me he has had some success removing the snuff from an inside painted bottle with a single bird feather!....John

[Joey]

Dear John,

    I wouldn't trust Clare's Ex. to tell me the time of day...
Best,
Joey