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Lot Essay
Coral is a symbol of longevity, due to its resemblance to a tree that seems to last forever. It was also a symbol of the first rank as civil officers of the first rank wore coral buttons on their hats. Coral was highly valued at Court and was considered to be the third most valuable gem. In Catalogue of the Exhibition of Ching Dynasty Costume Accessories, p.31, the order of value is given as pearl, ruby, coral, sapphire, lapis lazuli, quartz, shell etc. Coral was also the material used for the Emperor's Court necklace when worshipping at the Altar of the Sun, matched by a coral belt. Coral snuff bottles were produced for the Court throughout the early to mid-Qing period, and apart from the Palace workshops, we are told in Masterpieces of Snuff Bottles in the Palace Museum, p.29, that the records reveal that snuff bottles made of gems and gemstones (which included coral) were mostly produced at Imperial lapidary workshops in Suzhou and Yangzhou by order of the Emperor. The rarity of genuine early and mid-Qing coral snuff bottles is presumably due to the fact that only the occasional branch was large enough to make a snuff bottle.