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Lot Essay
Several factors suggest a possible Japanese origin for this charming and unique little bottle. The loop at the waist would allow it to double as a netsuke, the toggle by which inro, tobacco boxes, pipes, etc., were attached to the sash or belt, and Japanese double-gourd-shaped containers doubling as netsuke are known from the nineteenth century. The single, asymmetrical loop is also unlikely for a Chinese snuff bottle, as is the unusual material.
The little jade cat which is attached to the cord is, however, Chinese. Here, it serves to balance the bottle when it is standing on a flat surface, but since the bottle was clearly not intended to stand up this cannot have been important to anyone but the collector.
Two related bottles, both also likely Japanese, include one described as being woven to enclose a glass base, sold at Sotheby's, London, 6 June 1988, lot 375, and the bottle illustrated on the front cover of the JICSBS, Spring 1982, which is described as woven over a metal base.
The little jade cat which is attached to the cord is, however, Chinese. Here, it serves to balance the bottle when it is standing on a flat surface, but since the bottle was clearly not intended to stand up this cannot have been important to anyone but the collector.
Two related bottles, both also likely Japanese, include one described as being woven to enclose a glass base, sold at Sotheby's, London, 6 June 1988, lot 375, and the bottle illustrated on the front cover of the JICSBS, Spring 1982, which is described as woven over a metal base.