A FINELY CARVED CAMEO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE

SCHOOL OF ZHITING, SUZHOU, 1730-1850

Details

A FINELY CARVED CAMEO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
SCHOOL OF ZHITING, SUZHOU, 1730-1850
Of flattened ovoid form, the pale grey stone ingeniously carved utilizing the sparse amber and dark brown markings with a continuous mountainous landscape with Liu Hai taunting his three-legged toad below an inscription in running script reading qu xian lu wu zhu (taking the pearl from the celestial mist), jadeite stopper
2 in. (5.1 cm.) high

Provenance

Important Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Mei Ling Collection; Sotheby's, New York, 15 March 1984, lot 99.

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The town of Suzhou was one of the main cultural centers in China, attracting painters, calligraphers, poets, musicians and other talented individuals. Their pursuits comprise the main subject matter of the group of acclaimed snuff bottles intricately carved from agate and jade in a style unique to at least one workshop in the town, associated with the eighteenth-century master who occasionally signed his wares Zhiting.

For a series of Zhiting School Suzhou agate bottles, see G. Tsang and H. Moss, Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1978, pp. 114-5, nos. 204-7. See, also, a group of Zhiting School small agate bottles from the collection of Denis Low illustrated by R. Kleiner, Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Singapore, 1999, nos. 190-3.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art (Parts I & II)

View All