Brown and beige gilded Yixing clay snuffbox decorated with bats, China, 1850-1900 Of poly-lobed form, each side decorated with a bat in flight in brown clay applied on a light, slightly gilded background. The small fluted sides are flanked by a dog mask wearing a ring. At the bottom is a two-character seal 赦大 by the potter Sheda. The bottle rests on an attractive four-lobed foot. Coral stopper. Height: 6.2 cm Small chip on the neck. Provenance : - Former Elmer A. Claar collection. - Parke-Bernet Galleries Inc, New-York, February 20, 1970, lot 219 (Illustrated). - Dennis Crow, October 10, 1995. Shao Sheda (real name Shao Quanyin) was born in the mid-nineteenth century into the Shao family of Chuanbu, Yixing. He is a descendant of the disciples of Dabin, namely Shao Wenjin or Shao Wenyin. A renowned potter, Shao Sheda founded his ceramics store named Quan Yin in the 15th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1890), the store sign bearing the inscription "Quan Yin She Ji" - 观音舍记.