SUZHOU SCHOOL, 1770-1830

Details

A CARVED CAMEO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
SUZHOU SCHOOL, 1770-1830
The bottle is carved on one side with a monkey seated on rocks, scratching its head with one hand and picking a cluster of lingzhi with the other with billowing clouds above. The clouds continue on the reverse above a three-character inscription in relief, cai zhi tu (picture of picking the herb of immortality).
2 1⁄4 in. (5.7 cm.) high, jadeite stopper

Provenance

Arthur Gadsby Collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 May 1991, lot 88.
Rachelle R. Holden Collection, New York.

Literature

JICSBS, March 1979, p. 15, fig. 6.
R. Holden, Rivers and Mountains Far From the World - The Rachelle R. Holden Collection, A Personal Commentary, New York, 1994, pp. 158-159, no. 66.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

A captivating example of carving from the town of Suzhou, the current bottle exploits not only the various tones present in the stone, but also the pale-brown markings which surround the contemplative monkey. Through the sparse darker inclusions the monkey is cleverly carved, directly above the dark lingzhi fungus. This well-hollowed bottle is yet another example of the carver's ability to adapt the decoration to the stone in hand.

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