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    Sale 2166

    IMPORTANT CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE J&J COLLECTION

    Hong Kong

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    25 April 2004

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    • A VERY FINE WHITE JADE FISH-FO
    Lot 841

    A VERY FINE WHITE JADE FISH-FORM SNUFF BOTTLE

    Price realised

    HKD 119,500

    Estimate

    HKD 120,000 - HKD 180,000

    Follow lot

    A VERY FINE WHITE JADE FISH-FORM SNUFF BOTTLE
    1720-1800

    The well-hollowed bottle finely carved in the form of a fan-tailed goldfish, its mouth forming the mouth of the bottle, with aquatic plants trailing from its mouth and running beneath its body, the translucent, flawless stone of even white tone
    2 3/16 in. (5.6 cm.) long

    Provenance

    Mrs. Roy E. Tomlinson, Montclair, New Jersey
    The Montclair Art Museum, 1943 (Accession no. 66.104, 1966)
    Sotheby's New York, 23 September 1995, lot 71
    Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd.

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    Literature and exhibited

    Literature

    Schuyler V. R. Cammann, Miniature Art From Old China. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Montclair Art Museum Collections, no. 188


    Exhibited

    The J & J Collection, Part II: A Selection of Unpublished Snuff Bottles, Christie's Los Angeles, 2003


    Lot Essay

    This charming bottle belongs to a small group of fish-form bottles most likely carved during the Qianlong period that is characterized by impeccable quality and finish and superb choice of material. They represent the finest of Qing miniature jade carving and nearly always possess a lovely, soft, satiny polish, as epitomized here.

    The generic word for aquatic grasses in Chinese is pronounced zao, which puns the character meaning 'early,' and the goldfish is a form of carp, liyu, which puns the character meaning profit or wealth. Thus, the design of the present bottle may be read as a rebus meaning, 'May you soon become wealthy.'

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