A CARVED CARAMEL AND HONEY-COLOR CAMEO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE

OFFICIAL SCHOOL, 1780-1850

Details

A CARVED CARAMEL AND HONEY-COLOR CAMEO AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
OFFICIAL SCHOOL, 1780-1850
Of flattened, rounded square shape, the bottle is raised on an oblong foot ring and is carved on one side through an opaque caramel-colored area of the stone to the semi-translucent soft honey-colored body with a bird in flight above a stag grasping a lingzhi stem in its mouth, and a seated monkey wielding a stick to shoo away a wasp.
2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm.) high, coral and gilt-metal stopper

Provenance

Lizzadro Collection, Chicago, Illinois, acquired prior to 1960.

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Lot Essay

According to Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2006, p. 109, no. 5.7.1, the combination of a deer (lu), bird (que), monkey (hou), and wasp (feng) represents the pun, "May you receive high rank and emolument (juelu fenghou)."

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