Lot 107, Auction 4/12/2026: Pair of Chinese Qing Porcelain Erotic Snuff Bottles

$390.00

In stock

East Asia, China, ca. Qing Dynasty, 19th to early 20th century CE. A pair of Chinese porcelain snuff bottles from the late Qing Dynasty, each painted with erotic figural scenes, with the larger example additionally modeled in relief, extensively gilt, and bearing a red maker’s mark on the base. The larger bottle is ovoid in form and decorated with a continuous outdoor scene of entwined couples set within a garden landscape, executed in a famille rose palette of pale greens, pinks, and soft enamels. The figures and select elements are rendered in low relief, giving the composition a sculptural presence. Gilding accents the neck, footrim, and domed lid, enhancing the richness of the surface and framing the painted decoration. The base bears a red painted mark, consistent with late Qing decorative studio marks rather than imperial attribution. Size of larger with lid: 1.5″ Diameter x 2.8″ H (3.8 cm x 7.1 cm)

The companion bottle is of flattened, faceted form and painted in bright enamels with an interior scene of reclining and seated figures arranged against simplified washes of yellow and green. The decoration is handled in a more graphic manner, with crisp outlines and minimal shading, emphasizing narrative clarity and contrast.

Erotic imagery on snuff bottles was widely produced during the Qing Dynasty, particularly in the 19th century, when such objects functioned as personal and private items intended for discreet appreciation. These scenes draw upon long-standing traditions of erotic painting and illustration, often presenting intimacy as playful, harmonious, and refined rather than overtly explicit. Together, these snuff bottles present two complementary approaches to erotic porcelain production in late Qing China, combining painted enamel, molded relief, and gilt embellishment within the intimate scale of snuff bottle craftsmanship.

Condition: More petite is missing lid. Both have good remianing detail with nice gilding on larger. Maker’s mark on underside of larger.

Provenance: private Rogers, Arkansas, USA collection; ex-Bosio collection, Miami, Florida, USA, 1960-2000

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