A SUZHOU CHALCEDONY AGATE BOTTLE

1750-1820

Details

A SUZHOU CHALCEDONY AGATE BOTTLE
1750-1820
Of flattened spade shape, carved in a continuous scene cleverly using a variety of inclusions to depict a bat above a horse fording a stream near craggy rockwork with a pine to one side and a scholar leaning against a rock nearby, the reverse side with a fisherman on a promontory above frothy waves, a fish hooked on the line of his pole, the head of a turtle appearing from the waters nearby, the shoulder with a cloud surround above a three character inscription de li tu, stopper
26in. (5.2cm.) high

Provenance

Mrs. Galia Baylin Collection, Hong Kong
Sotheby's, New York, 3 October 1980, lot 190
Eric Young Collection
Sotheby's, New York, 13 October 1987, lot 85
Robert Hall, London, 2 March 1992

Literature

Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles III, Hong Kong, 1990, pp. 90-91, no. 54
Rachelle R. Holden, Rivers and Mountains Far From the World, Hong Kong, 1994, pp. 152-153, no. 63

Lot Essay

The inscription can be read as a painting title reading "Attain Profit."

This bottle is a fine example of Suzhou school production, making full use of the variety of inclusions within the stone to produce a delightful bucolic scene. The title de li alludes to the fishermen and his catch carved to one side and the broader metaphor of gaining profit at levels far exceeding its value as food. As li can also be the sound for the word 'strength'. The three characters have the dual meaning of "attaining profit" or "acquiring strength". The horse has always had a venerated role in Chinese history due to its military importance. Horses were a symbol of political power and scholar officials adapted the horse as a metaphor for the Emperor's beneficence - a well-treated stallion was an analogy for a well-treated scholar, wh ile an emaciated beast represented Imperial abuse.

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