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Lot Essay
A popular subject found on Official School bottles of the late 18th/early 19th century, a horse tethered to a post forms a common rebus which expresses a wish for speedy promotion for a deserving young candidate. With the present example, the carver has used the natural markings in the stone to full advantage and presented a powerful impression of three-dimensional depth. This example is distinguished by its lack of a foot rim and especially by the unusual addition of the inscription. Effectively using the natural colors in the stone, this inscription would appear to be a clever double entendre that refers both to the horse and to the speed of promotion of the recipient. An agate bottle of this design, but lacking the inscription, is illustrated by R. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles - The White Wings Collection, p. 180, no. 122.
For a discussion of the Official School of hard-stone carving, see H. Moss, V. Graham, K. B. Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 2, Quartz, no. 258, and nos. 301-6 which are all from the same school and decorated with horses in a somewhat similar vein.
For a discussion of the Official School of hard-stone carving, see H. Moss, V. Graham, K. B. Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 2, Quartz, no. 258, and nos. 301-6 which are all from the same school and decorated with horses in a somewhat similar vein.