In the Alembic of Ink
Non Selling Exhibition of Paintings by the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat, Hong Kong Convention Centre, May 2015
E-Yaji
News
September 2025
Step into a world where tradition meets innovation. Transcultural Ink proudly presents its inaugural 3D virtual exhibition, showcasing the works of leading Chinese contemporary ink artists. This groundbreaking exhibition brings the ancient art of ink painting into dialogue with the digital age, offering an immersive online experience accessible from anywhere in the world. Explore powerful reinterpretations of ink’s rich heritage where brush, water, and imagination converge to reflect today’s global cultural landscape. Join us in celebrating this new chapter for ink art.
Experience the exhibition now at Transcultural Ink
February 2025
Selected Bottles from the Four Winds Collection
四風齋珍藏
Now available
A4 softback edition | 146 pages | US$60.00 + shippingemail: moonrabbit@lyall-fam.com
January 2025
Authentic MysticismA publication by philosopher, painter, collector and author Hugh Moss. Unlocking the infinite power of creativity, with a new perspective on art and consciousness.
August 2023
The Imperial Origins of the Art of Inside-painted Snuff Bottles
The article explores the imperial origins of the art of inside-painted snuff bottles, tracing how policies and social reforms under his reign influenced artistic traditions in Ming China. The Emperor's restructuring of land ownership and regulation of religious institutions set the stage for cultural expressions, including the intricate craftsmanship of inside painting.
This historical context highlights how the imperial court and broader governance created a fertile environment for this unique art form to flourish. By linking political history with artistic development, the article offers rich insights into the cultural significance and evolution of inside-painted snuff bottles.
July 2023
Transcultural Ink.
Ineffable Perfection in Three Steps
This was originally a lecture delivered for the Zeng Fanzhi Foundation at JC Cube Theatre, Tai Kwun, Hong Kong, on 2 July 2023, which was live-streamed to mainland China.
April 2023
Transcultural Ink.
A site devoted to art arising out of, and contributing to, the continuing evolution of the ink art of China.
January 2023
Art Reboot
What is art for?
Hugh Moss argues that the twentieth-century revolution in art, shaped by Western influence, has been widely misinterpreted. He suggests that many of its defining principles had governed Chinese art for over two millennia. In this tradition, art’s ultimate purpose lay in the evolution of consciousness, transcending material form and uniting artist and audience within a shared process of insight.
Art Reboot presents a transcultural framework that reinterprets modern art’s global trajectory and reasserts the philosophical depth of artistic practice. Moss, a leading authority on Chinese snuff bottles and scholar’s art, is also a painter and calligrapher known as the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat.
June 2022
We have updated the inside painted artists section of the web site. It now includes works by Ye Zhongsan and Family
June 2022
Essays on Art
by
Hugh Moss
What is art, and what is it for? After millennia of human creativity and the vast amount of art that they have produced, these may seem like questions that are barely worth asking – or at least, that have been satisfactorily addressed by audiences and critics over several centuries.
I strongly disagree. continue..
November 2021
The Water Pine and Stone Retreat Collection of Snuff bottles
Part III
The Collector's Influence over the Snuff-bottle Arts
Hugh Moss and Stuart Sargent
The third volume of the collection catalogue is now available. Anyone who has already registered for Parts I or II need not re-register - your password will work for all three volumes. If you haven't registered you can do so, for free, by clicking here.
There is a response field so that readers can let us know of any comments, corrections or suggestions. Unfortunately we cannot undertake to respond to each of these individually, but that does not mean we do not appreciate them.
Hugh Moss
At the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat, December 2021.
February 2021
An interview with the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat
This is the interview section from A Retrospective of Paintings by the Master of the Water, Pine, and Stone Retreat complete with illustrations
February 2021
Explaining The Inexplicable
This is the first in a series of talks through which Hugh Moss will explore the nature of the creative process, in all its manifold, mysterious, and culturally vital aspects. It is intended for all, whether as artists or audience, who remain even a little confused by the art world - while, at the same time, being inexorably drawn to it.
An Artist's Perspective: How Art Works
Hugh Moss discusses the viewing of a Chinese handscroll, which provides a key to the formulation of a unified theory of art. Click here to read the article
Originally Published in Orientations March 2013, pp.186-188
Beyond the Stage of Time
A Retrospective of Paintings by the Master of the Water, Pine, and Stone Retreat
Volume I: Realised Realms
280 pages, containing a dialogue between the artist and Sean Geer, an essay by Peter Suart, illustrations of 109 works with transcriptions of texts a catalogue of seals, and collection, exhibition and publication information.
Volume II: Staff Masters and Stone Fools
376 pages, containing illustrations of 191 works with transcriptions of texts, and collection,
exhibition and publication information.
More information and purchase options
The Water Pine and Stone Retreat Collection of Snuff bottles
Part II
Non-Imperial Influence over the Snuff-bottle Art
Hugh Moss and Stuart Sargent
The second volume of the collection catalogue is now available. Anyone who has already registered for Part I need not re-register - your password will work for all three volumes. If you haven't registered you can do so, for free, by clicking on the link to the book on the right, or here.
We have added to both currently published volumes a response field so that readers can let us know of any comments, corrections or suggestions. Unfortunately we cannot undertake to respond to each of these individually, but that does not mean we do not appreciate them.
Hugh Moss
At the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat, December 2019.
August 2018
Research Update
The Yangzhou Conundrum
We have found compelling evidence to re-assess the group of enamelled glass wares made at Yangzhou. We now believe they are not from the late Qianlong period, but part of a thriving snuff-culture antiquarian interested in Yangzhou in the second half of the nineteenth century that we will be addressing in Part II of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection to be published on the site next year. The article here deals with the evidence so that everyone has access to the same information at the same time.
August 2018
Click here to read the updated article. The article also has higher resolution pictures of all the snuff bottles featured in the book.
A UNIFIED THEORY OF ART: MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL
by Hugh Moss
A newly added article.
If you haven't already please have a look at the articles section of the site where you will find a lot of old articles previously published elsewhere
Originally published: Still Point Arts Quarterly, Spring 2017, Issue No. 25.
Member’s Area
The member’s area is now open, you will need to register to gain access. There is no charge for this, just enter your details and let us know who you are. Please check your spam folder for confirmation emails if you don't receive them.
In the member’s area you will find the online publication of: Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection 水松石山房藏鼻煙壺
Click here or use the link in the main menu to register or log in.
The Ko Collection
An article outlining the history of the collection, with a biography of Mr. Ko by Giovanni Caretti and some fascinating photographs documenting the life of Evaristo Caretti (Mr. Ko). Introduction by Hugh Moss. Click here to view
Unthinkable: How do you judge good art from bad?
Irish Times
As Hugh Moss, author of the newly published book The Art of Understanding Art, says: “It seems we are suffering a serious art-theoretical lapse.
Full online publication of the Marakovic collection of Chinese snuff bottles
The resources section now has a selection of articles about snuff bottles. Click here or on the main menu
Wilf Pond
A very early article on Chinese snuff bottles (1894) by Wilf Pond is now available here. Thanks to Bernie Wald for finding it and sending it to us
The pioneering work by Henry C. Hitt
has now been added to the resources section. It is a full digitised version of the book along with the later inside painted addition.Ding Erzhong
An Exhibition of known bottles by the inside painted artist, essays and the entire text and illustrations of the section on Ding from the recent seven-volume catalogue of the Bloch Collection, exactly as printed.
Resources
If you haven't already then take a look at the resources section. As well as exhibtions the library section has a fully searchable copy of Reflected Glory in a Bottle with more to be added soon.
Zhou Leyuan
An exhibition of known bottles by the inside painted artist, dated where possible. See the resources menu or click here
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THE ANNE WRANGHAM COLLECTION OF CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES
Live Auction on Saturday 8th NOVEMBER 2025
11.00 am GMT
Alastair Gibson Auctions is pleased to announce their upcoming auction sale on the 8th of November of The Anne Wrangham Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles.
Anne Wrangham started her collection in 1966 and it was an enduring passion of hers for over 39 years. Anne kept extensive records of her purchases including many of the original invoices from connoisseur dealers, Hugh Moss, Claire Lawrence, Robert, Kleiner and Robert Hall along with purchases from the major auction houses in London, New York and Hong Kong.
This is an opportunity for collectors to bid on a single owner collection with detailed provenance accumulated over the last half of the 20th century.
or
Use this link if geographic exclusions prevent the above from working
Autumn 2025
Publications
![Marakovic collection of [translate:chinese snuff bottles]](/books/thumbs/Marakovic.jpg)
![[translate:Chinese Snuff Bottles] By Wilf. P. Pond](/images/front-page/t/wilf-pond.jpg)
![[translate:Schoen chinese snuff bottles]](/images/front-page/t/Shoen.jpg)
