Four Chinese Porcelain Snuff Bottles, Qing Dynasty to Republic Period

清-民國粉彩、礬紅彩鼻烟壺四支

-The first, Republic Period, porcelain of upright rectangular form, with a cylindrical neck, gilded mouth and protruding faceted rectangular footrim, the main sides each with a gilt-framed rectangular panel in famille-rose enamels, depicting on one side a scholar standing under a willow tree observing his attendant making tea on a brazier, the reverse with a poetic inscription followed by two seals (Qianlong) in iron-red enamel, the remainder of the bottle decorated with enamels imitating puddingstone, the base with an apocryphal blue enamel Qianlong nian zhi mark
-The second, 19th century, porcelain modeled as a crouching squirrel with grapes, the body finely carved and enameled in gray with darker markings, the eyes picked out in black
-The third, mid-late 19th century. Porcelain of tapering rounded-rectangular form, the shoulders sloping to a cylindrical neck, with a flat lip and protruding oval footrim, each main side finely painted in iron-red with differing images of Zhong Kui, one as the Demon Queller brandishing a sword, the reverse in his official robes, a bat flying above; the base with a four-character Qianlong mark in iron-red
-The fourth, circa 1780-1850. Porcelain, molded, carved and reticulated, of ovoid form with a flared neck, a flat gilt lip and a protruding oval footrim, reticulated and carved on each main side in high relief with two ladies and eight children, well detailed and enameled in Famille Rose colors, on a terrace beneath palm leaves, a key-fret border encircling the neck, the base with a four-character Qianlong mark in iron-red script, attributed to the Imperial Palace kilns, Jingdezhen

Largest Height without stopper 3 in., 7.6 cm.

Property from the Estate of Dr. Thomas Klein, sold to benefit Jefferson Hospital

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Provenance:

-The first, the Collection of Barbara and Marvin Decker

Asian Art Studio, Los Angeles, CA;

-Squirrel: collection of Mitchell Bistany, sold Tremont Auction, Sudbury, MA, October 22, 2023, lot 6

-Zhongkui: Hindman Auction, Chicago, September 24, 2019, lot 266

-Reticulated: Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, March 26, 2018, lot 294

-All: Property from the Estate of Dr. Thomas Klein, sold to benefit Jefferson Hospital

湯姆·克萊因醫生收藏鼻烟壺逾四十年。他畢業於哈佛大學與羅徹斯特大學，曾於美國陸軍擔任婦產科醫師並出任高階領導職務。其後於傑佛遜醫院服務三十年，2023年以婦產科副主任身分榮退，期間培養了五百餘名住院醫師與無數醫學生。他的學術與臨床精神延續於以其名設立的「Thomas A. Klein 講席教授」，本場拍賣所得亦歸於傑佛遜醫院。

Tom Klein’s life was shaped by two enduring passions: medicine and the collecting of snuff bottles. While these worlds rarely intersected, both were marked by the same qualities—quiet dedication, discernment, and grace.

Tom was unfailingly modest–when the I.C.S.B.S. held its convention in Philadelphia, he entrusted me to select bottles from his collection for the exhibition “Embers of the East,” a task made challenging by the number of exceptional bottles. His passion for collecting was thoughtful rather than acquisitive, grounded in appreciation rather than display. These were his companions—objects he handled, studied, and loved for over 40 years.

Professionally, Tom enjoyed an equally distinguished career. A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Rochester, he served as an obstetrician-gynecologist in the U.S. Army in senior leadership roles. He spent thirty years at Jefferson Hospital, retiring in 2023 as Vice Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, having trained more than five hundred residents and countless medical students. His legacy continues through the Thomas A. Klein, MD Professorship in Quality and Safety in Women’s Health.

To those who knew him as a collector, these accomplishments mirrored the man I admired: principled, generous, and exacting without pretension. Over the 35 years I had the privilege to know him, he was a gentleman in the most absolute sense of the word. Though he is deeply missed, his presence endures in the objects he cherished and in our shared love of snuff bottles.

Clare Chu

Four Chinese Porcelain Snuff Bottles, Qing Dynasty to Republic Period

清-民國 粉彩、礬紅彩鼻烟壺四支

清-民國粉彩、礬紅彩鼻烟壺四支