A FINE CARVED CAMEO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE

OFFICIAL SCHOOL, 1740-1850

Details

A FINE CARVED CAMEO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
OFFICIAL SCHOOL, 1740-1850
Of compressed, rounded form with concave lip and recessed oval foot, the honey-toned stone cleverly carved utilizing the brown and white markings with a continuous landscape with a dragon amidst swirling clouds above a tiger on rocks, the reverse with a fruiting peach branch and a monkey offering a peach to Shoulao seated on the back of a flying bat, stopper
2 1/16 in. (5.11 cm.) high

Provenance

Irving Lindzon
Christie's London, 12 October 1987, lot 329

Literature

JICSBS, Autumn 2000
Moss et. al., The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J&J Collection, vol. 1, no. 150

Exhibited

Christie's New York, 1993
Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1994
Museum fur Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, 1996-1997
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1997
Naples Museum of Art, Florida, 2002
Portland Museum of Art, Oregon, 2002
National Museum of History, Taipei, 2002
International Asian Art Fair, Seventh Regiment Armory, New York, 2003
Poly Art Museum, Beijing, 2003

Lot Essay

The creativity of the artist is consummately illustrated by the use of the material, with every area of color employed in the design in the manner we have come to associate with the school attributed to Suzhou. While the style here is quite different from that of the Suzhou school, the maker of the bottle was clearly inspired by that school, and the dynamism of the carving is characterized by the vivid depiction of the tiger and the dragon, the former in awe of the writhing dragon above it. The confident and evocative use of color is mirrored on the reverse, with the portrayal of Shoulao. The theme of longevity is emphasized by the monkey offering one of the peaches of longevity grown in the garden of the Goddess of the West (Xiwangmu), while the monkey is often associated with these peaches because of its pivotal role in the novel The Journey to the West (Xiyouji).

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