MASTER OF THE ROCKS SCHOOL, 1730-1840

Details

A YELLOWISH-GREEN AND RUSSET JADE SNUFF BOTTLE
MASTER OF THE ROCKS SCHOOL, 1730-1840
The rounded, rectangular bottle features flat faces that retain the russet skin, with each narrow side carved with a sinuous chilong.
2½ in. (6.3 cm.) high, jadeite stopper

Provenance

Hugh M. Moss Ltd., London, 1970s.
Susan Lapidus (1948-2008) Collection, acquired 1970s.

Special notice

Items which contain rubies or jadeite originating in Burma (Myanmar) may not be imported into the U.S. As a convenience to our bidders, we have marked these lots with Y. Please be advised that a purchaser¹s inability to import any such item into the U.S. or any other country shall not constitute grounds for non-payment or cancellation of the sale. With respect to items that contain any other types of gemstones originating in Burma (e.g., sapphires), such items may be imported into the U.S., provided that the gemstones have been mounted or incorporated into jewellery outside of Burma and provided that the setting is not of a temporary nature (e.g., a string).

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Lot Essay

The material favored by the Master of the Rocks school was referred to by Zhao Zhiqian in the late Qing period as "yellow steamed-chestnut" and to modern collectors as "han" jade. There seems to have been one workshop specializing in carvings from this distinctive material, known as the Master of the Rocks School. Its main output was of bottles in this material carved with landscape designs, but many other subjects are recorded, including a few with chi dragon designs, which may have been partly produced for the Court.

A pear-shaped nephrite bottle with chi dragons carved on either side is illustrated in H. Moss, V. Graham and K.B. Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 1, Jade, Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 370-71, no. 142, where the chi dragon theme of the school is discussed. Other examples from this school carved with chi dragons on either side include one from the Hildegard Schonfeld Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2013, lot 1076, and another from the Meriem Collection, also sold at Christie's New York, 19 September 2007, lot 669.

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