RUSTIC CRYSTAL MASTER SCHOOL, 1750-1840

Details

**A RARE CARVED AMETHYST SNUFF BOTTLE
RUSTIC CRYSTAL MASTER SCHOOL, 1750-1840
Of flattened spherical form, the well-hollowed bottle carved with a continuous scene of a sage standing on a bridge within in a rocky landscape with pine and other trees, the landscape continued in lower relief on the reverse, amethyst stopper with pearl finial and gilt-metal collar
2 3/8 in. (6 cm.) high

Provenance

Hugh Moss
S. C. Harris and R. G. H. Binney
Robert Hall
Drouot (Millon Jutheau), Paris, 6 November 1983, lot 99
Hugh M. Moss Ltd.

Literature

Hugh Moss, Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, p. 24, no. 43
Moss et. al., The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, vol. 1, no. 103
The Art of Chinese Snuff Bottle, Poly Art Museum, p. 46, fig. b

Exhibited

Christie's, New York, 1993
Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1994
Museum fur Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, 1996-1997
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1997
Naples Museum of Art, Florida, 2002
Portland Museum of Art, Oregon, 2002
National Museum of History, Taipei, 2002
International Asian Art Fair, Seventh Regiment Armory, New York, 2003
Poly Art Museum, Beijing, 2003

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

This bottle is a masterpiece from the Rustic Crystal Master School, displaying a rich, strong purple material, delightful subject and masterly control over the medium. This is a typical decorative scheme for the school, where a high-relief subject on one side is balanced by a low-relief landscape on the reverse.

The subject is drawn from the literati tradition of painting, where a wandering sage or scholar pauses on a bridge to delight in the solitary joys of the countryside in an idealized landscape. Noteworthy is the manner in which the figure stands in what appears to be a circle of light, giving it greater presence than size alone would allow.

For an imposing bottle by the Rustic Crystal Master with high relief on one side and low relief on the other, see L. S. Perry, Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Adventures and Studies of a Collector, p. 58, no. 30. For a discussion of the school, see H. Moss, V. Graham, K. B. Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 2, Quartz, nos. 254-57.

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