SUZHOU SCHOOL, 1750-1820

Details

A CARVED CAMEO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
SUZHOU SCHOOL, 1750-1820
The bottle is carved through the white skin on one side with a monkey shown crouching in a cave. The reverse is carved with shallow rocks and has a calligraphic insciption carved in a darker inclusion reading cai zhi xian cao ying chang chun (everlasting spring is reflected in the celestial herb of immortality).
1 3⁄4 in. (4.4 cm.) high, jade stopper

Provenance

Janos Szekeres Collection, Connecticut.
Sotheby's New York, 27 October 1986, lot 174.
Christie's New York, 27 November 1991, lot 123.
Rachelle R. Holden Collection, New York.

Literature

JICSBS, June 1975, cover.
R. Holden, Rivers and Mountains Far From the World - The Rachelle R. Holden Collection, A Personal Commentary, New York, 1994, pp. 160-161, no. 67.

Exhibited

The New Orleans Museum of Art, October 1980.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Margaret Gristina (葛曼琪) Senior Specialist, VP

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

The monkey (hou) is often seen as a pun for marquis (hou) and expresses a wish for advancement in rank. For a further discussion of the monkey's symbolism, see, T. Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006, pp. 118-120.

More from Rivers and Mountains Far from the World: Important Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Rachelle R. Holden Collection

View All