AN UNUSUAL, POSSIBLY IMPERIAL BANDED AGATE 'CHILONG' SNUFF BOTTLE, QING DYNASTY, 1770-1900

Banded agate carved in high relief, with a fire gilt bronze snuff dispenser, inlaid with three ruby red hardstone cabochons. China, 1770-1900

Carved in the form of a furious dragon head, with some facial features such as nostrils and eyes in high relief, and elegantly curved horns and eyebrows, the concentric rings in the stone enforcing the dominant character of the legendary creature. From the mouth emerges a second, much smaller Chilong, again cleverly highlighted by the carver using brighter layers in the stone.

The snuff dispenser is most likely to be of Chinese origin. Especially the manner, in which the hardstone cabochons have been mounted, the massive fire-gilding and the nuancing of the circle-shaped fire-gilt platelets point to an imperial commission. For an imperial agate double bottle with similarly unusual fire-gilt bronze stoppers, showing related cabochon mountings and designs of the circle-shaped fire-gilt platelets, see The Art and Culture of Snuff Bottles, The National Palace Museum of Taipeh, Hou Yi-Li, Section III, lot 30.

Shape: Bulbous pear shape
Hollowing: Excellent
Mouth, neck and lip: The mouth succinct to the body
Base: None
Design, marks, school: Possibly imperial
Stopper: Mechanical rotating snuff portion dispenser in perfect working condition, can be unscrewed to fill-up the bottle with snuff
Height of the bottle with stopper: 7.7 cm.
Width of the mouth: 8 mm.
Condition: Two chips at the mouth, some minor stress lines inside the stone, wear, otherwise very good condition
Provenance: Austrian private collection

Literature comparison: Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. Sotheby's, NEW YORK, March 19th, 2013, lot 387. (for a bottle from the same material but depicting a deer) The Art and Culture of Snuff Bottles, The National Palace Museum of Taipeh, Hou Yi-Li, Section III, lot 30. (for an imperial agate double bottle with similarly unusual fire-gilt bronze stoppers, showing related cabochon mountings and designs of the circle-shaped fire-gilt platelets) Snuff Bottles from China, the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, Helen White, Bamboo Publishing, London 1990, pages 130-131, lot 4. (for another banded agate bottle, carved with vegetables) THE J & J COLLECTION OF SNUFF BOTTLES, PART III. Christies, New York, March 29th, 2006, lot 71. (for another banded agate snuff bottle, with a base encircled by a band of formalized lotus petals, the shoulders carved with animal mask and ring handles, attributed to the Beijing palace Workshops) Bob C. Stevens, The Collectors Book of Snuff Bottles, Weatherhill, New York, 1980, lot 527. (for a banded or striated agate bottle, but with a lotus design) Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, Hugh M. Moss, Bibelot, 1971, lot 21. (for an uncarved agate bottle with a similar setting of "concentric bands of varied white and grey coloring")

清代不同尋常的瑪瑙"螭龍"鼻烟壺
瓶口有兩道小裂口，瑪瑙石内可見小細紋，其他部位品相極好
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