TWO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLES

1740-1860

Details

TWO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLES
1740-1860
The first, probably Beijing, possibly Imperial, 1750-1850, is a 'macaroni' agate bottle of flattened, rounded form carved with mask and ring handles on the narrow sides. The second, 1740-1860, is of flattened rectangular form and well hollowed to highlight the smokey-white inclusions and soft amber tone of the stone.
2¼ and 2½ in. (5.7 and 6.4 cm.) high, hardstone stoppers (2)

Provenance

'Macaroni' agate bottle: Sotheby's New York, 14 June 1983, lot 325.
Rectangular bottle: Bernie Wald, New York, 1983.

Lot Essay

Both of these bottles are part of a group made for the Court and for non-courtly patrons as imperial influence seeped out among snuff takers in the north during the 18th century. Mask and ring handles, such as those seen on the first bottle, are frequently seen on a vast number of northern bottles made at and for the Court.

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