1770-1880

Details

A LARGE AND WELL-CARVED SILHOUETTE AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
1770-1880
The bottle is carved on one side utilizing dark brown markings in the stone with a fisherman seated in a boat below a vaporous cloud revealing the sun at the center. The reverse is uncarved.
2 ¾ in. (5.7 cm.) high, glass stopper

Provenance

Robert Kleiner, Belfont Company Ltd., Hong Kong, 1994.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 1150.

Literature

Symposium on Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Carl F. Barron, Presented at the Annual Convention of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Association, Boston, privately printed, 2008, p. 17, fig. 9.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve.

Brought to you by

Andrew Lick

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

A similar agate bottle carved with a fisherman is illustrated in B. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, New York, 1976, no. 538. The role of the fisherman is discussed by Terese Tse Bartholomew in Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 144, as one of the 'Four Noble Professions.'

More from The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles: Part VI

View All