Decorated with a scene of a hen and chicks and a still life, and signed Ding Er Zhong, this 2¼-inch-tall bottle with interior painting was the top seller of the day, bringing $13,090 from an East Coast buyer ($200/300).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Tremont Auctions
SUDBURY, MASS. — On October 22, Tremont Auctions presented more than 550 snuff bottles from the collection of Mitchell Bistany, who began collecting them beginning in the 1960s. The majority of the bottles were Chinese, with a few Japanese examples included, in a broad range of material, from carved hardstones and jades to cloisonne, glass, porcelain and cinnabar. Low estimates and no reserves contributed to all lots selling, in a sale that took about 10 hours to gavel down, for a total of $614,460. Buyers around the world competed, with more than 80 percent of lots sold to online buyers. Tremont’s Asian art specialist, Jim Callahan, said the Bistany family was very pleased with the results.
More than 60 bottles were decorated with interior painting. The selection included the sale’s top lot, a Chinese bottle that depicted a scene of a hen and chicks and a still life. It stood 2¼ inches tall, was signed by Ding Er Zhong and dated to the early Twentieth Century. Interest in the lot took it to $13,090, from an East Coast buyer.
Only two bottles were in the form of human figures but one of them — a porcelain example representing the figure of Li Tieh Kuai — earned a second-place finish at $11,780. One of the Eight Taoist Immortals, Li is often depicted leaning on a staff and carrying a gourd, as he was in the snuff bottle in the Bistany collection. A pale yellow glaze and coral stopper further distinguished the 2½-inch-tall bottle, which a Mid-Atlantic buyer will be taking home.
In second place at $11,780 was this Chinese Nineteenth Century figure of Taoist Immortal, which found a new home with a Mid-Atlantic buyer bidding online ($200/300).
More than two dozen famille rose bottles crossed the block with a category high at $11,960 for one that depicted a historical scene that bore the mark of Chia Ching (1796-1820). A playful scene of children had a jadeite stopper and Nineteenth Century Chien Lung mark that closed out at $7,735, to a buyer in the Midwest who was bidding on the phone.
Jade is a perennial favorite among collectors and nearly 80 jade bottles were in Bistany’s collection. An Eighteenth Century example, worked in yellow jade, in the form of a snuff bottle bag, found a new home with an international buyer for $10,540. A Nineteenth Century jadeite snuff bottle in a deep lavender color with a carved fish-shaped coral stopper topped off at $8,680. The same price was realized for an Eighteenth Century white bottle with basket-weave carved sides.
Agate was another popular medium to make snuff bottles from and Bistany’s collection featured more than 60 examples. At the top of the category was a pair of Eighteenth Century Chinese examples carved with insects, peaches and flowers; one featured a fitted wood stand. A West Coast buyer, bidding online, prevailed against all other competitors to win it for $8,890.
This pair of agate carved bottles featured gray highly translucent stone carved with insects, peaches and flowers. A West Coast buyer, bidding online, took the pair to $8,890 ($200/300).
A few additional items from the Bistany collection will be sold in Tremont’s next auction of Asian works of art, which is scheduled for December 3.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.tremontauctions.com or 617-795-1678.
