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Lot Essay
This exquisite bottle belongs to a distinctive group of early nephrite animal-form bottles, many of which are carved from white jade and most of which are characterized by sculptural elegance and painstaking hollowing. At present, it is the only known example combining two bears, an animal which the Chinese associate with heroic virtues. This bottle displays a tender scene as the cub clings tightly to the parent, who is represented with hunched shoulders and a gently tilted head, the face with a benign expression. The sculptor has brilliantly used the pebble material to capture the spirit of these beasts with extraordinary perception, giving the parent a more settled demeanor than its youthful counterpart. The carver has also ingeniously utilized the russet skin to suggest the chain extending from the parent's collar to the cub's leg. This chain, unique among the few bear-form snuff bottles of the group, implies that the bears are in captivity.
A related white jade bottle, also from the J & J Collection, carved as a single bear with similar rendering to the head so as to suggest the same hand or workshop, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 25 April 2004, lot 853. Another bear-form bottle of the same model and possibly by the same hand or workshop, but of slightly larger size, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29 April 1992, lot 555. This bottle is now in the Mary and George Bloch Collection and illustrated by Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, vol. 1, Jade, no. 42.
In ancient times the Chinese believed that bears, being mountain-dwelling animals, were fierce and energetic, thus appropriate symbols of the yang (male) force. In time, the phrase, mengxiong zhi xi ('The joy to dream of a bear'), has become a subtle expression for wishing that people beget male children. It can also be used as a congratulatory remark for someone who has been blessed with a baby boy.
A related white jade bottle, also from the J & J Collection, carved as a single bear with similar rendering to the head so as to suggest the same hand or workshop, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 25 April 2004, lot 853. Another bear-form bottle of the same model and possibly by the same hand or workshop, but of slightly larger size, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29 April 1992, lot 555. This bottle is now in the Mary and George Bloch Collection and illustrated by Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, vol. 1, Jade, no. 42.
In ancient times the Chinese believed that bears, being mountain-dwelling animals, were fierce and energetic, thus appropriate symbols of the yang (male) force. In time, the phrase, mengxiong zhi xi ('The joy to dream of a bear'), has become a subtle expression for wishing that people beget male children. It can also be used as a congratulatory remark for someone who has been blessed with a baby boy.