A Japanese-Embellished white Jade Snuff Bottle
The bottle possibly 18th century, the Japanese embellishment probably by the Tsuda Family, Kyoto, 1880-1920
The bottle of bulbous spade shape with a tall waisted neck with concave mouth and with a simply scooped shallow oval base with flat foot ring, the high quality embellishment of various hardstones and other materials and depicting a continuous scene with flowering peony sprays below a seven-character inscription and alongside rockwork and a nandina spray that continues to the reverse side where an elegant lady holds a fan and a boy chases a butterfly that is also eyed by a bird in the branches above, the stone of an even white color.
2 3/16in (5.6cm) high, stopper
Footnotes:
白玉嵌寶石人物花鳥圖鼻煙壺
壺：或為18世紀
嵌飾：或為日本津田家族，1880-1920年

For a discussion of the group of embellished bottles attributed to the Tsuda family of Kyoto, Japan, see Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, Vol. II, p. 512-515, no. 302. For another example of similar shape but with cylindrical rather than waisted neck, see Bonhams, New York, The Linda Riddell Hoffman Collection, 22 March 2011, lot 94. The combination of the rounded spade shape and delicate waisted neck of our example suggests a possible late eighteenth century date for the jade bottle itself.