Very Rare, Cylindrical Jade SNUFF BOTTLE, 1740-1840

Snuff Bottles

$2,450

Material

Jade

Color

Multi-Color

Origin

China

Age / Period

1800-1849

Dimensions

Height: 2.47 inches (6.2cm) - not including stopper, Diameter: 1.08 inches (2.8cm)

Condition

Estate / Pre-owned

This is a very rare form for a Jade Bottle, its Cylindrical Form, and the variety of color skins that surround it and that appear to portray their own artistic rendering with splashes of Russet, brownish, light brown, black, gray, over a white-gray ground. It was probably made during the period Qing Dinasty period, 1740-1840. It is perfectly symmetrically rounded with rounded shoulders, and ends rounded around a perfect circular raised bottom that features a flat base. It comes with a stopper that has a combination of jade on the bottom, topped with reticulated metal that holds a reddish jade dome. This spectacular looking bottle is in excellent preserved condition. An identical form and material snuff bottle is illustrated in 'The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles", by Bob C. Stevens, Item 690, page 177 Photo #8: A similar form and material bottle that was part of the J&J Collection was sold at Christies for $7,800 on 28 Mar 2006 Photo #9: An identical form, material and period bottle was at Auction on Sotheby's London, with a price estimate of 3,000 - 5,000 GBP on 13 May 2015 *Below are the Catalog comments made on the cylindrical bottle in photo #9, which also, of course, apply to the cylindrical bottle shown on this listing:* "The hollowing is very well done, following the outer contour up into the shoulders and around the body, but leaving a fairly heavy foot (0.52 cm). This feature was clearly a matter of choice rather than a question of saving time or effort, as the detailing is superb, with a perfectly circular interior base and a neat right-angled wall rising up from it. This cannot have been an easy task through so small a mouth and with the restrictions of a long, only slightly flaring inner cylinder to the neck. It speaks volumes for the commitment of the artist that he would go to so much trouble on a feature invisible to the user, particularly if the bottle were full of snuff. The formal integrity is also perfect, with the unusual circular concavity of the foot, the neat foot rim, and the detailing of neck and lip, all superbly carved. It is the subtlety of the shaping, however, that transforms a perfectly executed bottle into a serious sculptural statement. The cylinder tapers upwards toward the neck before curving inward at the shoulders; the difference in diameter between the lower and upper ends of the cylinder is only 1.3 mm, but the visual effect is considerable, giving a far greater impression of sturdiness than would have been achieved with a straight-sided cylinder. The final touch of genius is found in the even slighter flaring of the neck to offset the taper of the body, which is a tiny difference (less than 0.5 mm) but again visually powerful. There are few clues as to origin and dating. The heavy base might indicate a palace workshop source, as might the use of flawed material. The cylindrical form is another possible clue to such an attribution. There is an inscribed cylindrical chalcedony bottle from the collection of Yongxing 永瑆 (1752 -- 1823; Kleiner 1987, no. 142), which, although smaller in size, is of very similar form, even though the slightly flaring neck terminates with an upper neck rim. The neck rim is a typical palace feature on hardstone snuff bottles, and it is likely that Yongxing, the eleventh son of the Qianlong emperor, had ready access to the palace workshops. If the two are connected formally, a date from the late-Qianlong into the early-Daoguang period would be the most likely, although a broader possible dating range has been left. This would also tie in with the large number of cylindrical porcelain snuff bottles that seem to have been made from the end of the Qianlong period onwards. Many of these with blue-and-white-dragons and unglazed bases incised with concentric circles are obviously imperial in nature." Bottle Measurements Height: 2.47 inches (6.2cm) - not including stopper Diameter: 1.08 inches (2.8cm) Weight: 2.4 ounces