Published: Clare Lawrence, The Alexander Brody Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, 1995, p. 20, no. 20.

China. Extremely well hollowed, the flattened pouch-form body rising from a slightly concave foot to a short cylindrical neck with a flat lip. The finely polished stone of attractively mottled honey-caramel tone with natural markings open to imaginative interpretation, certainly evocative of mountain peaks rising above billowing clouds and vaporous mist.

Provenance: The Collection of Alexander Brody, Honolulu, USA. Born in Budapest, Alexander Brody (1933-2022) built an impressive collection of Chinese snuff bottles, lending several pieces to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city. In 1995, he collaborated with Clare Chu to produce a publication showcasing his collection.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and natural inclusions, two tiny nicks to the body.

Stopper: Coral stopper
Weight: 33.9 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 62 mm. Diameter neck 19 mm and mouth 6 mm.

The ancient Mongolians observed that the gradated color of dendritic Chalcedony resembled the folds in a horse's brain, which is why the Chinese gave this group of desirable quartz stones, including agate, the name 'ma nao' (literally meaning horse brain). The group has been known to the Chinese as 'ma nao' since at least the second century AD, and it is even mentioned in poems from The Three Kingdoms period. A documented Ming Dynasty text dedicated to agate and chalcedony describes the mineral (quartz) as neither stone nor jade, but as a category of its own. The document notes that pebbles of smaller sizes were used to craft personal items such as beads, belt hooks, and rings, while larger ones were carved into containers or decorations.

This type of chalcedony was also called 'Western agate' (see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 2, Quartz, no. 258). The pattern of natural mottling here, accentuated by the thinness of the walls, is suggestive of a continuous scene of mountain peaks rising above billowing clouds, evocative of the famous view from the peaks of Huangshan, in Anhui province.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related agate snuff bottle, dated 1750-1870, 5.8 cm tall, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number 1634-1882.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 72
Price: USD 15,600 or approx. EUR 21,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A very fine and rare agate snuff bottle, possibly Imperial, possibly Palace Workshops, 1720-1830
Expert remark: Compare the related material and color with similar cloud-like markings. Note the different form and the size (6 cm).