A VERY FINE WHITE JADE FISH-FORM SNUFF BOTTLE

細節

A VERY FINE WHITE JADE FISH-FORM SNUFF BOTTLE
1720-1800

The well-hollowed bottle finely carved in the form of a fan-tailed goldfish, its mouth forming the mouth of the bottle, with aquatic plants trailing from its mouth and running beneath its body, the translucent, flawless stone of even white tone
2 3/16 in. (5.6 cm.) long

來源

Mrs. Roy E. Tomlinson, Montclair, New Jersey
The Montclair Art Museum, 1943 (Accession no. 66.104, 1966)
Sotheby's New York, 23 September 1995, lot 71
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd.

出版

Schuyler V. R. Cammann, Miniature Art From Old China. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Montclair Art Museum Collections, no. 188

展覽

The J & J Collection, Part II: A Selection of Unpublished Snuff Bottles, Christie's Los Angeles, 2003

拍品專文

This charming bottle belongs to a small group of fish-form bottles most likely carved during the Qianlong period that is characterized by impeccable quality and finish and superb choice of material. They represent the finest of Qing miniature jade carving and nearly always possess a lovely, soft, satiny polish, as epitomized here.

The generic word for aquatic grasses in Chinese is pronounced zao, which puns the character meaning 'early,' and the goldfish is a form of carp, liyu, which puns the character meaning profit or wealth. Thus, the design of the present bottle may be read as a rebus meaning, 'May you soon become wealthy.'