Three Chinese metal snuff bottles and one Indian white metal snuff bottle
Late Qing dynasty,...

Three Chinese metal snuff bottles and one Indian white metal snuff bottle

Late Qing dynasty, 19th century - 20th century

Comprising: one bronze bottle cast in relief with Shoulao and deer, with matching stopper, 19th century, 7.2cm high without and 8.2cm high with stopper; a champlevé bottle with floral designs and loose ring handles, associated stopper,4.7cm high without stopper, a small Mongolian-style copper flask-shaped stopper with inlaid turquoise and coral beads, the matching stopper connected by a chain, 3.1cm high without and 3.5cm high with stopper; the Indian bottle and matching screw-on stopper also decorated with floral motifs, 6cm high without and 6.5cm high with stopper (4).

Provenance: the Shoulao bottle, Christie's South Kensington, 11 November 2005, lot 501.

晚清 鐵鼻煙壺及印度白鐵鼻煙壺

Snuff bottles from a Private Collection (Lots 95-238), mostly formed by Frederick George Ruddle (1886-1960), from Carshalton, Surrey, and Lily Beatrice Ruddle (neé Etherington) 1887-1972, from Sutton, Surrey.

The Ruddle family were owners of a large bakery in Sutton, and property developers in Sutton and Carshalton, Surrey

Frederick was by trade, a sign writer; Frederick and Lily left England initially for South Africa and subsequently for Australia, where they settled shortly before the first world war. They had eight children.

Frederick then took up an executive role for an Australia, Southeast Asia and South Sea Island trading company, Burns Philp, which took him to travel extensively in East Asia; it is presumably during the course of these travels that he had the opportunity to discover Chinese and East Asian Art, and start amassing his collection of snuff bottles, amongst other things. He was a passionate collector of many things beside snuff bottles, including Oceanic Art and Orientalia.

In 1978, the current vendor, a grandchild of Frederick, came to England to attend Cambridge university. At the time he was given power of attorney from the executors of the estate to assist in and arrange the sale of Frederick and Lily’s remaining real estate and properties in Sutton and Carshalton.

As thanks for his assistance, the executors, Molly and Hilda Ruddle, gave him the collection of snuff bottles, in 1980, which he lovingly preserved, researched, and added to over the years