A FINELY CARVED AND UNUSUAL EMERALD-GREEN AND WHITE JADEITE SNUFF BOTTLE

1760-1840

Details

A FINELY CARVED AND UNUSUAL EMERALD-GREEN AND WHITE JADEITE SNUFF BOTTLE
1760-1840
Of compressed spherical form, cleverly carved utilizing the emerald-green inclusions with a continuous design of two dragons amidst finely incised stylized waves, a stream of green vapor emanating from one dragon's nostrils extending over the lip of the bottle, jadeite stopper with gilt-metal collar
1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm.) high

Provenance

Sotheby's, New York, 3 October 1980, lot 280
Hugh M. Moss Ltd.
J & J Collection
Eric Young
Sotheby's, London, 13 October 1987, lot 124
Hugh M. Moss Ltd.

Literature

JICSBS, Autumn 1987, p. 1
Arts of Asia, July-August 1987, p. 17
Arts of Asia, March-April 1988, p. 122, lot 124
Moss et. al., The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, vol. 1, no. 70

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

Lot Essay

The carver of this wonderful bottle has used his material with extraordinary imagination to create an energetic and conceptually delightful design, and managed to transform the relative dullness of the white ground by carving it with an allover design of formalized, yet highly energetic waves. Satisfying in its own right is the abstract balance of the brilliant green color set against the pale ground which is effectively linked to the form of the bottle, as the single vein of green moves over the lip in a modulated line.

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