Lot Essay
Two other similar bottles are known, the first from the collection of the Marquess of Exeter, illustrated by Hugh Moss, Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, p. 8, no. 5; and the second, dated to 1817 or 1877, is in the Chester Beatty Collection, illustrated in Arts of Asia, March-April 1988, p. 60, no. 7. Like the present lot, the calligraphy on both these bottles is cut through the outer skin to achieve a degree of contrast for the characters. The style of calligraphy and cutting, as well as the use of the material, are very similar in the present bottle and the example from the collection of the Marquess, which suggests that they are from the same workshop and probably by the same hand.
The inscription reads as follows:
Cut and polished by a skilful craftsman,
[In here is hidden] the shrunken Master of the Bottle.
[While] the one who has attained the Way keeps [improper matters] in the dark,
A recluse [always strives to] preserve his true nature.
The inscription reads as follows:
Cut and polished by a skilful craftsman,
[In here is hidden] the shrunken Master of the Bottle.
[While] the one who has attained the Way keeps [improper matters] in the dark,
A recluse [always strives to] preserve his true nature.