A MOLDED AND ENAMELED PORCELAIN 'LIU HAI AND TOAD' SNUFF BOTTLE, REPUBLICChina, 1912-1949. Molded and painted as a young smiling Liu Hai, accompanied by the three-legged toad, and carrying his string of cash over the shoulders, the matching stopper molded as his hair bound to a ponytail.Provenance: From the private collection of Dr. Mary Kaufman, New York, USA. Thence by descent within the same family. Dr. Kaufman (1927-2013) was a well known NYC snuff bottle collector.Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and firing flaws.Stopper: Porcelain (matching), finely carved old spoon Weight: 35.8 gDimensions: Height including stopper 72 mm. Diameter mouth 7 mmThe story of Liu Hai is frequently told as 'Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad'. However, there is a hidden meaning here: The Chinese word for toad is chanchu; sometimes, only the first character chan is pronounced. In some Chinese dialects, the character chan has a pronunciation very similar to qian which means 'coin'. Therefore, a storyteller reciting 'Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad' could also be heard by listeners as 'Liu Hai playing with the gold coins'.Auction result comparison: Compare with a related molded and enameled porcelain snuff bottle depicting the same subject at Sotheby's New York in The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles on 14 September 2010, lot 24, sold for USD 10,000.民國陶瓷琺琅彩劉海戯金蟾鼻烟壺中國,1912-1949年。塑造笑容滿面的劉海,背上一隻三足金蟾,肩部挂著一串銅錢。劉海的髮辮作爲相配套的壺蓋。 來源:美國紐約Mary Kaufman博士私人收藏,之後傳承於同一家族。Kaufman博士(1927-2013)是一位紐約知名鼻烟壺收藏家。 品相:品相極好,輕微磨損和燒製缺陷。 壺蓋:瓷壺蓋 (相配), 精美雕刻小壺匙 重量:35.8 克 尺寸:總高72 毫米;壺嘴直徑7 毫米 拍賣結果比較:一件相似塑形琺琅釉鼻烟壺,相同主題,見紐約蘇富比 The Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles 拍場2010年9月14日 lot 24, 售價USD 10,000.