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Lot Essay
This bottle is rich in Daoist symbolism. The overall shape resembles a flattened double-gourd which symbolizes the alternative, paradisiacal realm of reality of the Daoist adept. The lower section is also in the form of a bi disc which symbolizes heaven. The inscription on one side of the bi-shaped segment is translated as follows:
"The curse of Heaven thus states: the sky is round and the earth square. The numeral six should be slackened when nine is amplified. Wherever the spirit of the charm is, the earthly ghosts vanish. Let this order be obeyed with haste."
This enigmatic text is a typical Daoist charm made more powerful by the two elongated characters on each side, which denote lightning. The creative forces of yin and yang are associated respectively with the numerals six and nine, as evident in the text. The yinyang dichotomy represents all opposites but each is reliant upon the other, so that their ultimate unity is expressed by an interlinked symbol of harmonious balance.
The yinyang symbol is depicted on the reverse of the bottle, surrounded by the Eight Trigrams. The decoration also includes other Daoist charms, including one of the immortals. The belief in charms is given emphasis by the line in the inscription, "Wherever the spirit of the charm, earthly ghosts vanish". Opposite the Daoist immortal is the character qi, 'air', above flowing water, symbolic of the flow of nature and the need to harmonize with it. The character on the upper segment of each side, gua, comes from bagua, 'Eight Trigrams', that form the divination system of Daoism.
A rhinoceros horn bottle, almost identical in design to the present lot, from the collection of Robert Mullin, is illustrated in Chinese Snuff Bottles No. 5, p. 33, fig. 28. It is likely that both bottles were carved by the same hand, while a third bottle that is comparable in style is also in the J&J Collection, illustrated by Moss et. al., The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, vol. 2, no. 281.
"The curse of Heaven thus states: the sky is round and the earth square. The numeral six should be slackened when nine is amplified. Wherever the spirit of the charm is, the earthly ghosts vanish. Let this order be obeyed with haste."
This enigmatic text is a typical Daoist charm made more powerful by the two elongated characters on each side, which denote lightning. The creative forces of yin and yang are associated respectively with the numerals six and nine, as evident in the text. The yinyang dichotomy represents all opposites but each is reliant upon the other, so that their ultimate unity is expressed by an interlinked symbol of harmonious balance.
The yinyang symbol is depicted on the reverse of the bottle, surrounded by the Eight Trigrams. The decoration also includes other Daoist charms, including one of the immortals. The belief in charms is given emphasis by the line in the inscription, "Wherever the spirit of the charm, earthly ghosts vanish". Opposite the Daoist immortal is the character qi, 'air', above flowing water, symbolic of the flow of nature and the need to harmonize with it. The character on the upper segment of each side, gua, comes from bagua, 'Eight Trigrams', that form the divination system of Daoism.
A rhinoceros horn bottle, almost identical in design to the present lot, from the collection of Robert Mullin, is illustrated in Chinese Snuff Bottles No. 5, p. 33, fig. 28. It is likely that both bottles were carved by the same hand, while a third bottle that is comparable in style is also in the J&J Collection, illustrated by Moss et. al., The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, vol. 2, no. 281.