A 'THUMBPRINT' AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE, QING DYNASTY

Agate with a smooth polish. China, 1750-1880

The stone with tones of garnet, caramel, white and grey, each side bearing an attractive pattern of concentric rings, resembling thumbprint patterns in various shapes partially in coincidence with the contour of the bottle.

Shape: Compressed ovoid shape
Hollowing: Excellent
Mouth, neck and lip: Slightly tapered neck with flat top and small mouth
Base: Oval with succinct foot rim, the inner carved with a deeply incised lining
Stopper: White jadeite with a splash of emerald green, old spoon
Height of the bottle with stopper: 6.5 cm.
Width of the mouth: 6 mm.
Width of the neck: 15 mm.
Condition: Excellent, some minuscule, almost invisible nibbling to lip
Provenance: Sotheby's New York, March 22, 1999. Property from the Estate of Gerard L. Cafesjian, Naples, Florida, USA. (the spoon bearing old collector number '170')

Literature comparison: CHINESE ART FROM THE SCHOLAR'S STUDIO. Bonhams, New York, March 17th, 2014, lot 8008. CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE COLLECTION OF BARBARA AND MARVIN DICKER. Bonhams, New York, March 16th, 2015, lot 1019. (for two other thumbprint agate bottles)

清代瑪瑙"指紋"鼻烟壺
品相極好, 唇部有几不可見的磕碰
蘇富比，紐約，1999年3月22日，應為格拉德∙L∙卡夫吉安Gerard L. Cafesjian 產業，美國弗洛里達那不勒斯（小勺上有舊藏編號"170"）