Prospective purchasers are advised that several co… Read more

**A RARE EMERALD-GREEN-FLECKED WHITE AND PALE RUSSET JADEITE PEBBLE-FORM SNUFF BOTTLE

1760-1840

Details

**A RARE EMERALD-GREEN-FLECKED WHITE AND PALE RUSSET JADEITE PEBBLE-FORM SNUFF BOTTLE
1760-1840
Of natural ovoid pebble form, the white and pale russet stone with brilliant green streaks, the markings suggestive of a dragon emerging from mist, coral stopper with gilt-metal collar
2 5/16 in. (5.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Edward T. Chow Collection
Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 5 May 1994, lot 1447
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

Snuff bottles made from natural pebbles appear to have been extremely popular, both at Court and elsewhere, but the vast majority of surviving examples are made of nephrite, and jadeite pebbles are very rare. The present example is further distinguished by its superb hollowing and brilliant emerald-green markings suggestive of a dragon emerging from mist. This type of jadeite was apparently known during the time of Zhao Zhiqian, a snuff-bottle connoisseur of the mid-nineteenth century, as "pine needles in snow." A bottle of similar material, but of a more standard shape, is illustrated by Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 1, Jade, no. 172.
The legendary collector Edward Chow had a small but select group of snuff bottles, all of which are noteworthy.

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