A CARVED WHITE JADE SNUFF BOTTLE
Imperial, attributed to the Palace Workshops, 1750-1800
Of rectangular form with rounded shoulders and a cylindrical neck and with a neatly carved oval footrim, very well-hollowed through a small mouth, the even white stone carved in low relief on each main side with a pair of stylized confronting dragons surrounded by comma scrolls and bosses; stopper.
2 5/8in (6.7cm) high
Footnotes:
1750-1800 白玉刻螭龍紋鼻煙壺一件
御製 或為宮廷作坊製

Provenance:
Helen D. Ling Estate, July 29, 2007
Joan and Ted Dorf Collection, no. 362

Exhibited:
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD., September 30 – December 9, 2018

A pair of confronting dragons represent a happy reunion and provide wishes for conjugal bliss. Many eighteenth-century bottles use this motif and would have been given as gifts within the court. The formalized design of the dragons on this bottle is seen throughout the Qianlong period on imperial works of art as well as snuff bottles.

A beautifully carved pale white stone snuff bottle.The mouth has a small, well-centered aperture, and is very well-hollowed. The is half a collar to the stopper.