Lot 297
297
A WELL-CARVED RUSSET, BROWN AND WHITE JADE SNUFF BOTTLE
This lot is offered without reserve.
A WELL-CARVED RUSSET, BROWN AND WHITE JADE SNUFF BOTTLE

MASTER OF THE ROCKS SCHOOL, 1740-1840

Details
A WELL-CARVED RUSSET, BROWN AND WHITE JADE SNUFF BOTTLE
MASTER OF THE ROCKS SCHOOL, 1740-1840
The bottle is carved utilizing the natural vertical striations of the stone to depict two powerful chi-dragons on either side looking towards the mouth rim. Two smaller dragons are carved through russet patches of stone on the narrow sides.
2 3/8 in. (6 cm.) high, jadeite stopper
Provenance
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong, 2006.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 2938.
Exhibited
Boston, International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society Convention, The Barron Collection, 23-26 September 2008.
Special notice
This lot is offered without reserve.

Lot Essay

The Master of the Rocks School seems to have specialized in carvings from this distinctive material. The School's main output was bottles carved with landscape designs, but many other subjects are recorded, including a few with chi dragon designs which may have been partly produced for the Court. The quality of carving and the use of material of the present bottle are typical of this School.

For other examples of snuff bottles from the Master of the Rocks School, see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 1, Hong Kong, 1995, nos. 136-141.

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