SUZHOU SCHOOL, 1770-1830

A captivating example of carving from the town of Suzhou, the current bottle exploits not only the various tones present in the stone, but also the pale-brown markings which surround the contemplative monkey. Through the sparse darker inclusions the monkey is cleverly carved, directly above the dark lingzhi fungus. This well-hollowed bottle is yet another example of the carver's ability to adapt the decoration to the stone in hand.