AN INSCRIBED AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
AN INSCRIBED AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE

19TH CENTURY

Details
AN INSCRIBED AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
19TH CENTURY
The slender ovoid form bottle is decorated with an incised inscription containing the poem 'Zao yan'. The base has an incised Qianlong four-character mark to the base.
2½ in. (6.3 cm.) high overall, stopper
Provenance
With Spink & Son Ltd., London, 8 December 1960.
Property from an Important Private European Collection.

Brought to you by

Ivy Chan
Ivy Chan

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Lot Essay

The inscription contains a poem entitled 'Zao yan', composed by the poet Dumu (AD 803-852) in the Tang Dynasty. In the eighth month of AD 842, the Tang Dynasty was invaded by foreign tribes from the North. The eighth month of the year is also the time of year when wild geese migrate to the south. In this poem, Dumu compares the migration of the wild geese to the dispersion of the Southern people during the invasion of the North. He also refers to the Han Dynasty as a allusion to the Tang Dynasty, criticizing the corruption and ineptitude of the rulers.

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