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Lot Essay
This bottle belongs to a series of agate snuff bottles bearing a four-character seal mark of Qianlong and inscribed with poems. This bottle differs from most, however, in that it is inscribed with a yuzhi ('by Imperial command') mark, rather than a nianzhi ('made in the period') mark, which ranks higher in the hierarchy of Imperial marks, and denotes a direct Imperial interest in the object.
The poem appearing on this bottle may be translated:
How I envy you, to be able to hold this treasure in your palm!
It exudes a feeling of warmth and moistness, making all your guests
[feel as if they were bathed in a] spring [breeze].
This auspicious atmosphere follows you and protects you.
The fragrance of snuff pervades your sleeves; it is always fondling you.
Clear as crystal, [the bottle is like] the blue-green tinge in autumn
water, [like] the glistening moonlight, free from dust.
Antique lovers all commend highly vessels made during the three
dynasties, the pure-hearted, however, prefer trinkets [like these].
Compare the agate bottle incised with the same inscription and bearing a Qianlong yuzhi mark in clerical script, formerly in the White Wings Collection, illustrated by D. S. K. Low, More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 222, no. 205. See, also, the very similar Qianlong-marked agate bottle sold at Christie's New York, 21-2 September 1995, lot 323 and another similar Qianlong-marked agate bottle illustrated in Sotheby's Hong Kong Twenty Years, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 280, no. 465 (sold 28 October 1992, lot 407).
The poem appearing on this bottle may be translated:
How I envy you, to be able to hold this treasure in your palm!
It exudes a feeling of warmth and moistness, making all your guests
[feel as if they were bathed in a] spring [breeze].
This auspicious atmosphere follows you and protects you.
The fragrance of snuff pervades your sleeves; it is always fondling you.
Clear as crystal, [the bottle is like] the blue-green tinge in autumn
water, [like] the glistening moonlight, free from dust.
Antique lovers all commend highly vessels made during the three
dynasties, the pure-hearted, however, prefer trinkets [like these].
Compare the agate bottle incised with the same inscription and bearing a Qianlong yuzhi mark in clerical script, formerly in the White Wings Collection, illustrated by D. S. K. Low, More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 222, no. 205. See, also, the very similar Qianlong-marked agate bottle sold at Christie's New York, 21-2 September 1995, lot 323 and another similar Qianlong-marked agate bottle illustrated in Sotheby's Hong Kong Twenty Years, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 280, no. 465 (sold 28 October 1992, lot 407).