Lot 19: Property of Dr. Martin Roshco

Official School, 1780-1850
Of compressed ovoid form with a flat lip and wide mouth, with an oval foot rim surrounding a recessed base, the interior very well-hollowed, one side of the exterior finely carved to show a figure sweeping outside a city gate while a gentleman plays the qin above.
2 3/8in (5.9cm high

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Provenance:
Ashkenzie & Co, San Francisco, 1990
Former Jack Rose Collection

The scene on the bottle is a reference to "the undefended city" chapter in the epic novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Under pressure from Cao Cao's troops, Zhuge Liang opened the city gate leaving only a sweeper out front while he watched from above plucking a qin. A similarly decorated bottle in the Victoria and Albert Museum dated 1750-1895 is illustrated in Helen White Snuff Bottles from China, p. 48, no 4.