A WELL-CARVED SPINACH-GREEN JADE MELON-FORM SNUFF BOTTLE

PROBABLY IMPERIAL, POSSIBLY PALACE WORKSHOPS, 1740-1800

Details

A WELL-CARVED SPINACH-GREEN JADE MELON-FORM SNUFF BOTTLE
PROBABLY IMPERIAL, POSSIBLY PALACE WORKSHOPS, 1740-1800
The lobed, oval melon is finely carved around the sides with a leafy vine which begins beside the small opening in the top, and with two butterflies. The finely polished stone is of deep green color.
2 ½ in. (6.4 cm.) high, mother-of-pearl stopper

Provenance

Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong, 2003.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 3903.

Exhibited

Boston, International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society Convention, The Barron Collection, 23-26 September, 2008.

Lot Essay

Fruit and vegetable-form snuff bottles were a staple at Court, produced particularly in jade, during the Qing dynasty. The present example is beautifully carved, with the vines and leaves gently enveloping the fruit, and perfectly conceived to fit comfortably in the hand.

The gourd symbolizes fertility, because of the many fruit that grow from a single vine, while the butterfly, seen on one of the narrow sides, is a symbol of longevity, based upon a pun on its pronunciation, which sounds the same as the character for the ages of seventy or eighty.

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