A $200,000 Chinese Imperial Kangxi Snuff Bottle Resurfaces at Heffel

After a very quick 48 hour trip to Hong Kong for the major auction previews at Bonhams, Christie's' and Sotheby's, I quickly made it back to Toronto to see the closing of my Asian art online sale at Heffel.

Spread over three sessions, the Spring Asian art sale featured 135 objects from Asia with works primarily originating from China alongside choice pieces from Japan and South Asia. In total, the auction realized an incredible CAD $1.6 million (including buyer's premium), which was the second-highest total result for an Asian art sale I assembled at Heffel!

Running from April 2 to April 30, the sale attracted numerous visitors to the Heffel Toronto gallery and sparked spirited bidding from collectors around the world. While strong participation came from buyers across Canada and the United States, active bidders from the United Kingdom, Austria, China, Hong Kong Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan were also involved.

Highlights of the Asian art sale at Heffel include a strong selection of Chinese calligraphy and paintings from the Estate of Wang Yiling (this is Part II of the collection), Chinese jade carvings from two important collections, and Chinese and other Asian works of art. The third session is where an incredible Chinese Kangxi Imperial snuff bottle that was thought to be lost (and then resurfaced in Vancouver) realized just over CAD $200,000!

Image 1a. A view of two of the display cases at the Heffel Spring Asian art online auction and a selection of Chinese fan paintings from the Estate of Wang Yiling.

Image 1b. The three major snuff bottles at the Heffel auction, including the star of the show (middle) - a Chinese Imperial Beijing enamel snuff bottle, with Kangxi yuzhi mark and of the period (1662-1722). The two other bottles are a jade carved aubergine-form snuff bottle from the Qianlong period (1736-1705) and a Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795) enamelled glass 'florals and insects' snuff bottle.

Image 1c. Some of the larger Chinese landscape and calligraphy scrolls from the Estate of Wang Yiling on view at the Heffel gallery.

Image 2. One of the highlights from the Asian art online auction at Heffel was a calligraphy fan painting by Ming Dynasty scholar Zhu Yunming 祝允明 (1460-1526). This work led the group of fans offered from the Estate of Wang Yiling during the auction and sold for CAD $37,250 against an estimate of CAD $6,000/8,000.

Born in 1881, Mr. Wang Yiling (Wang Xiwen) 王毅灵 (1881-1953) was a banker and director at the Kincheng Banking Corporation (Jincheng Yinhang) during the Republican Period (1911-1949). After returning from his studies in Japan, Wang began to hold important positions at major branches of the Kincheng Bank in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hankou. He formed a very important collection of Chinese scroll paintings, calligraphy and books while in China and Hong Kong.

Image 3a. Also from the Estate of Wang Yiling was this very important set of twelve calligraphy albums of the Ting Yun Guan Fa Tie 临停云馆帖十二册, attributed to Yong Xin 永瑆 (1752-1823).

These books contain all the engraved model calligraphies from previous dynasties compiled by the famous Ming Dynasty artist and scholar Wen Zhenming 文徵明 (1470-1559). The calligraphies were then engraved in stone at the Ting Yun Guan (literally the 'Stopping Cloud Mansion'). This important set of albums was estimated conservatively at CAD $8,000/12,000 and realized an astonishing CAD $145,250.

Image 3b. One of the pages of the pages from the album of Ting Yun Guan Fa Tie.

Image 4. There were so many more highlights from the Estate of Wang Yiling, but I just wanted to present a mountain landscape scroll painting attributed to Fu Shan 傅山 (1607-1684) that realized CAD $205,250 against an estimate of CAD $4,000/6,000.

This large painting perfectly depicts the artist's ingenious style and also showcases the transition of Chinese painting styles from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) with its stylized mountains and architecture.

Image 5a. Session 2 of the Heffel Spring Asian art online sale featured jade carvings from two prominent Canadian private collections. From the Family of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal, a collection that I have been dealing with for two years (and the third part of their jades offered through Heffel), was this very impressive group of five Chinese jade carved pendants.

Amongst the set of pendants was the cylindrical hat finial on the far left (these were worn by offiicals and would have contained a single feather). It was octagonal in shape and well-hollowed out. The stone itself was a very even white colour and can be dated to the Qianlong period (1736-1795).

When I first saw this jade carving on the client's dining room table, I just assumed it was a white tube. But upon bringing it back to the Heffel office for examination, we realized that the surface contained all the characters to form one of the most important Buddhist texts - the Heart Sutra.

These types of Heart Sutra inscribed jade ornaments are very rare with few ever appearing in the market. The closest comparable we found was a set that sold in Christie's New York during the mid 2000s for over USD 1 million dollars.

The Heffel example was only a single piece, in addition to the fact the other objects in the group were relatively minor pieces. Nonetheless, this lot still sold for a very high CAD $55,2050 against a low initial estimate of CAD $2,000/4,000.

Image 5b. A view of the Qianlong Heart Sutra inscribed white jade tube in the sunlight. You can see faintly the carved characters on the surface. Originally the characters would have been gilded.

Image 6a. And finally, my impressive snuff bottle find from this past February in Vancouver! On a routine house call for Chinese snuff bottles and Asian ivory carvings, I stumbled upon this exceptionally rare Chinese Imperial and Beijing enamelled snuff bottle with a Kangxi yuzhi mark. It depicts on either side a well-dressed boy in a garden on a yellow and tuquoise ground.

This snuff bottle was in a display case with 50 other bottles, and when I first picked it up, it was really one of those 'too good to be true' moments. These Kangxi snuff bottles are so rare and only a handful of them still exist on the planet. After much research and connecting with various colleagues around the world, this bottle turned out to be the real deal!

This snuff bottle came from the estate of Zena Rebak, who under the guidance of a close antique dealer friend in London, acquired the majority of her collection through gallery purchases. In 1983, she relocated to Vancouver with her husband. Despite the distance from London, her dedication to snuff bottles and Asian art remained strong, and she went on to hold a docent position at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia where she showcased examples from her collection.

The present Beijing enamel snuff bottle was last reportedly seen by the international snuff bottle community in the late 1960s. It belongs to a small and highly important group of only thirteen recorded ‘Imperial Command’ snuff bottles bearing a Kangxi yuzhi mark.

The enamels on these bottles were produced using newly introduced technologies transmitted to China by visiting Jesuit missionaries at the Qing court. These innovations allowed for a broader and more vibrant colour palette than was previously available, expanding upon the established famille verte tradition. In particular, the use of gold oxide in the enamelling process led to the invention of a rose-pink enamel, now more commonly referred to as famille rose, marking a pivotal moment in the development of Qing decorative arts.

Stylistically, the bottle departs from conventional Chinese decorative modes and instead reflects a pronounced Western influence. This is especially evident in the subtle modelling and shading of the boys’ clothing, as well as in the treatment of the flower petals and foliage - features closely aligned with European painterly techniques newly introduced at court.

Despite these Western elements, the bottle remains deeply rooted in Chinese artistic sensibilities and symbolism. The depiction of young boys conveys the auspicious wish for a long lineage of male heirs, a theme of particular significance to the Kangxi Emperor (reign 1662–1722), especially during his twilight years. Additional motifs associated with longevity include the peaches arranged along the edges of the decoration, also echoed in the dark outlines of the medallions, as well as the vibrant puce nandina flowers, a plant prized for retaining its red berries and green leaves throughout the winter months. Taken together with the use of a newly developed decorative technique, it is possible that this snuff bottle was conceived as a birthday presentation, conveying wishes for many more years of life and continued reign.

Of the thirteen recorded Beijing enamel snuff bottles bearing a Kangxi yuzhi mark, this example is listed as number twelve by Hugh Moss in his seminal publication, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary & George Bloch Collection (2008). The remaining examples are recorded in the following collections.

• Two in the Beijing Palace Museum

• Two in the Taipei National Palace Museum

• Two formerly in the J & J Collection

• Three formerly in the Bloch Collection

• One in the Rietberg Museum, Zurich

• One in the Crozier Collection, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art

This piece was very much in demand during the auction previews at Heffel, and was taken out of the display case dozens of times each day. In the end it was hotly contested by numerous international collectors and realized CAD $217,250 against the estimate of CAD $30,000/50,000.

Image 6b. The other side of the snuff bottle with a young boy holding onto a set of chimes.

Image 6c. The base of the bottle with the four-character reign mark 'Kangxi Yuzhi' 康熙御製 which translates to 'made by Imperial command for the Kangxi emperor'.

Image 6d. The last time this snuff bottle was actually seen was in the December 1975 Journal of The International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society. Of course the photo was probably taken years earlier.

Image 6e. In Hugh Moss's 1975 article with the Journal - 'An Imperial Habit' - the snuff bottle is promininetly displayed in a black and white photograph.

Image 7. And finally I want to end this blog with my favourite shin hanga (new wave print) artist Kawase Hasui (1883-1957). This woodblock print from 1950 depicts Kiyomizu Temple in the Snow, one of the iconic Buddhist temple sites in Kyoto, Japan. I've mentioned Hasui numerous times in my blogs as he is famous for producing atmospheric images of a nostalgic Japan.

Thank you again for reading this blog! I am about to head out to London for the May Asian Art in London events, so please follow me through my Instagram feed @anthonywuart. As for my next Asian art online sale with Heffel, it is scheduled for October, so hope to see you all there!