1780-1850

Details

A CARVED JASPER SNUFF BOTTLE
1780-1850
The olive-brown-tone bottle is carved on the opaque-ochre stone with a cat and a butterfly on one side, and a dog and a bird on the reverse, the narrow sides have a slight reddish color.
2 3/8 in. (6 cm.) high, glass stopper

Provenance

Robert Hall, London, 1999.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 2758.

Exhibited

Boston, International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society Convention, The Barron Collection, 23-26 September 2008.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve.

Brought to you by

Andrew Lick

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

The cat and butterfly represent a wish for longevity. The word for 'cat' (mao) has the same sound as the word for 'septuagenarian', and the word 'butterfly' (die) is homophonous with 'septuagenarian' or 'octogenarian'.

A bottle of similar material and motif currently in the S.L. Tan Collection is illustrated by Clare Chu in Chinese Snuff Bottles from Southern Californian Collectors, Hong Kong, 2016, pg. 135.

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