1770-1880

The carver of this charming bottle has made imaginative use of the natural coloring in the stone. This is most apparent in the appropriation of the darker markings to define the monkey, and the use of the sparse celadon patches to emphasize the areas where the least hair grows on the snout and paws. The artist has achieved a subtle formal balance here, setting the fruit on one side and using the free-standing monkey as a visual counterweight to re-balance the composition. A delightful additional touch rests in the addition of the symbolically significant wasp as the stopper, which the monkey gazes at apprehensively.
The imagery on this bottle is highly auspicious. The Chinese words for monkey (hou) and wasp (feng) form a pun that wishes speedy advancement to the rank of marquis, while the large peach adds a wish for longevity. In Chinese mythology the most important female deity, Xi Wangmu (Mother Goddess of the West), grew peaches of immortality in her gardens in the Western Paradise, from which the fruit derives its longevity symbolism.
Compare two other nephrite bottles from the J & J Collection also carved with monkeys and embodying the wish for advancement to the rank of marquis, illustrated by Moss, Graham, Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, nos. 16 and 17, and subsequently sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 25 April 2004, lot 854, and our New York rooms, 29 March 2006, lot 8, respectively.