A HONEY-BROWN CHALCEDONY AGATE 'COIN' BOTTLE

Details
A HONEY-BROWN CHALCEDONY AGATE 'COIN' BOTTLE
1800-1880

Of flattened rounded shape, carved in low relief with both sides of a Colonial 8-Reales depicting Charles III on one side and the Royal Coat of Arms on the other, minor neck chips, stopper
Provenance
Mrs. Elmer A. Claar, Chicago
Sold Parke Bernet Galleries, New York, February 20, 1970 (Part Two), lot 310

Lot Essay

The craftsman who copied the Colonial 8-Reales did a poor job of transcription and the spelling is incorrect or unreadable in some areas. Depending on how the inscription is read, it is likely that this bottle copies a Colonial 8-Reales minted in either Potosi (present-day Bolivia) or Santiago (Chile). See T. Calico, X. Calico and J. Tingo, Monedas Espanolas Desde Juana y Carlos A Isabel II, 1504 a 1868, 6 Edicion, Barcelona, 1985, p. 373 and 374

For a discussion of this group see Hugh Moss, Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, pp. 75-78