Cricket Match
Palace workshops
1776-1799
Height: 5.55 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.88/1.72 cm
Stopper: jadeite
Provenance:
Ko Collection, purchased in Shanghai, 1933
Christie's London, 10 June 1974, lot 58
Hugh M. Moss Ltd.
Irving Lindzon, 1987
J & J Collection
Christie's New York, 30 March 2005, lot 6
William McGuire Collection
Christie’s, Hong Kong, 7 October, 2014, lot 20
Published:
JICSBS, 20/3 (Autumn, 1988), front cover
JICSBS, 20/4 (Winter 1988), 37
Moss, Graham and Tsang no. 201
Dong Zhongli, Biyanhu jianshang baodian, 2007, p. 139 bottom right.
Famille Verte enamels on translucent white glass; with a flat lip and flat foot; painted on each main side with a katydid, the foot inscribed in iron-red enamel regular script Guyue xuan古月軒 (‘Ancient Moon Pavilion’)
Crickets and katydids, either alone or with cages, became a very popular subject on snuff bottles during the mid-Qing. An emblem of courage, the cricket in Chinese is pronounced guoguo which sounds the same as the word 'country'. The rebus is interpreted as Jinzhong baoguo, meaning 'to be loyal to one's country'. Large quantities of Imperially-made bottles were presented to officials around the country, as a sign of Imperial recognition they were a signal honor. Such a pun would have been a subtle and effective way of reminding officials of an essential feature of Confucian government. Another reason for the popularity of the cricket imagery is linked to the production of cricket cages and the popular pastime of cricket fights.
