OFFICIAL SCHOOL, 1760-1840

Details

**AN UNUSUAL CARVED AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
OFFICIAL SCHOOL, 1760-1840
The agate of honey-beige tone with mottled-tortoiseshell areas, the well-hollowed bottle of compressed spherical form, cleverly carved on one side utilizing the dark areas of the stone with a recumbent cat atop a perforated, natural rock formation from which an orchid issues, the reverse with a butterfly in low relief, tourmaline stopper
2 9/16 in. (6.5 cm.) high

Provenance

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1 November 1995, lot 935
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., 1995

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

For a discussion of the Official School of hard-stone carving, see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, vol. 2, Quartz, no. 258 and the several subsequent examples which are all of the school.

In an extraordinarily imaginative interpretation of the natural material, the carver has created a beautifully rendered tabby-cat from the tortoiseshell mottling of the darker markings. He has also created a most convincing natural rock sculpture and utilized the sparse areas of color to tint the flower of the orchid. The symbolism intended wishes the recipient longevity. The Chinese character for cat (mao) sounds like the character for septuagenarian, while the character for butterfly (die) sounds like the character for octogenarian. The orchid represents the ideal scholar-gentleman and, therefore, integrity.

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