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Lot Essay
One of the most beautiful of the exotic materials used for snuff bottles is amber, the translucent fossilized resin of ancient coniferous trees from the Tertiary period. The three main varieties of amber used are: a range of transparent brown, golden-brown and reddish amber, much of which came from Burma, although similar material was also found elsewhere; a yellow, cloudy amber associated with the Baltic; and 'root amber,' where the transparent range of material has inclusions of opaque yellow-ochre and brown colors.
Amber was valued long before the snuff-bottle era and was considered to be a symbol of longevity, since it was known to have lain in the ground being transformed over a long period of time. It would have become a popular material for snuff bottles from very early in the development of the art-form.
The material used for this bottle is called 'root' amber, so called because it was believed that the resin combines with clay at the root of the tree to obtain its color. However, it is more likely that the color is the result of a chemical process.
This bottle belongs to a distinctive group of 'pebble-shaped' amber bottles. See J. Ford, Chinese Snuff Bottles. The Edward Choate O'Dell Collection, no. 69, which has the same subject as this bottle; and another from the B. Stevens Collection illustrated by H. Moss in Chinese Snuff Bottles No. 4, p. 52, no. 20. Another pebble-shaped bottle is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty, no. 249.
The carving is remarkably similar to the other examples quoted above, suggesting a single workshop, possibly dating to the mid- to late-nineteenth century, and possibly working in response to the European demand for sculptural cabinet bottles.
The subject matter is believed to depict the Tang statesman and philosopher (768-824), Han Yu. He was banished to modern-day Guangdong after daring to remonstrate with the Emperor over a Buddhist relic in the Palace. He was a great lover of prunus, which he grew in his home. As he left, he broke off a branch of prunus to take with him on his exile. Although neither figure is carrying a branch of prunus, they are shown doing so in several of the other bottles from the same group. See W. Edmunds, Pointers and Clues to the Subjects of Chinese and Japanese Art, p. 125, for a further discussion on this subject.
The inscription is the fourth and final part of a poem written by Weng Sen, who lived in the Song or Yuan dynasty, entitled 'The Joy of Reading Throughout the Four Seasons'. This line is often quoted to mean that through the observation of small things one may be able to perceive the truth (Dao) in life and the universe.
Amber was valued long before the snuff-bottle era and was considered to be a symbol of longevity, since it was known to have lain in the ground being transformed over a long period of time. It would have become a popular material for snuff bottles from very early in the development of the art-form.
The material used for this bottle is called 'root' amber, so called because it was believed that the resin combines with clay at the root of the tree to obtain its color. However, it is more likely that the color is the result of a chemical process.
This bottle belongs to a distinctive group of 'pebble-shaped' amber bottles. See J. Ford, Chinese Snuff Bottles. The Edward Choate O'Dell Collection, no. 69, which has the same subject as this bottle; and another from the B. Stevens Collection illustrated by H. Moss in Chinese Snuff Bottles No. 4, p. 52, no. 20. Another pebble-shaped bottle is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty, no. 249.
The carving is remarkably similar to the other examples quoted above, suggesting a single workshop, possibly dating to the mid- to late-nineteenth century, and possibly working in response to the European demand for sculptural cabinet bottles.
The subject matter is believed to depict the Tang statesman and philosopher (768-824), Han Yu. He was banished to modern-day Guangdong after daring to remonstrate with the Emperor over a Buddhist relic in the Palace. He was a great lover of prunus, which he grew in his home. As he left, he broke off a branch of prunus to take with him on his exile. Although neither figure is carrying a branch of prunus, they are shown doing so in several of the other bottles from the same group. See W. Edmunds, Pointers and Clues to the Subjects of Chinese and Japanese Art, p. 125, for a further discussion on this subject.
The inscription is the fourth and final part of a poem written by Weng Sen, who lived in the Song or Yuan dynasty, entitled 'The Joy of Reading Throughout the Four Seasons'. This line is often quoted to mean that through the observation of small things one may be able to perceive the truth (Dao) in life and the universe.