1770-1830

Among a range of extremely well-hollowed nephrite and jadeite snuff bottles made during the mid-Qing period and probably at, or for, the Court, there is a very small group of jadeite bottles of lavender, lilac or blue coloring. Jadeite fascinated the Qianlong Emperor and became an obsession with him, leading to disastrous attempts to invade Burma and bring the area of the jadeite mines under Chinese control. Although this soured relations and made the material more difficult to acquire officially, demand from the Court prompted cross-border trade and brightly colored stone still reached the Court lapidaries. Although the majority of lilac and lavender jadeite of brighter colors was found and carved in the later-Qing period, occasionally these rarer colors were sent to China during the mid-Qing. This remarkable and rare example combines grey-blue and lavender coloring, a rare combination, with the popular ovoid form of the day and excellent hollowing, also typical of the mid-Qing period.