A YELLOW AND RUSSET JADE 'BUDDHIST LION' SNUFF BOTTLE, 1750-1850

The pale-yellow stone with a thick russet layer, carved and incised in high relief. Smooth surface finish.

China, Master of the Rocks School, 1780-1850

Of rounded rectangular shape with an oval foot ring and short tubular neck, the stone of a pale-yellow color with large patches of russet skin, finely carved to form a pair of buddhist lions, as always chasing the brocade ball, with incised clouds on the reverse. The material used for the present bottle was preferred by the Master of the Rocks school and was known in the late Qing period as 'yellow steamed-chestnut', and to modern collectors as Han jade. It was far from the only material used but was sufficiently popular to have become a characteristic trade-mark.

A possibly significant feature of this impressive example is also common to the school. It has a small mouth in relation to the lip, in this case almost as small as any known jade snuff bottle of normal size, and similar to a bottle from the Bloch collection, sold at Bonham’s Hong Kong, 28th May 2010, lot 45. This may not preclude wider mouths from the school, but it is an indication of a typical mouth detail. Both these bottles also have confidently carved forms with neat, crisp and pronounced foot rims and are both also superbly finished.

Shape: Rounded rectangular shape
Hollowing: Superb
Mouth, neck and lip: Cylindric neck, flat top, very small mouth
Base: Oval, with raised foot rim
Design, marks, school: Master of the Rocks School, 1780-1850
Stopper: Red coral on black platelet, old spoon
Height of the bottle with stopper: 7,2 cm.
Width of the mouth: 5 mm.
Width of the neck: 21 mm.
Weight: 110,5 grams
Condition: One minor flaw to lip, otherwise perfect condition
Provenance: American private collection

Literature comparison: Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 1, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 140.

Auction result comparison: SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE MARY AND GEORGE BLOCH COLLECTION: PART VI. Sotheby’s, 27 MAY 2013, HONG KONG, lot 144. (for a bottle carved from similar pebble material) THE DR. SYLVAN AND FAITH GOLDER COLLECTION OF FINE CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES. Bonham’s, 11 Sep 2017, NEW YORK, lot 9108. (for a similar bottle)

黃玉留皮雕”雙獅獻瑞”鼻烟壺，1750-1850年
黃玉帶濃厚的褐色沁， 高浮雕，表面平滑磨光
中國，留皮玉雕派製，1750-1850年
圓角矩形的黃玉壺身帶有大面積的褐色沁，精細的刻劃出兩頭青獅獻瑞的模樣。此鼻烟壺使用的材料為晚清時期被留皮玉雕派譽為”栗子糕”的黃玉，這樣的選材及手法是該派別最大特色。
留皮玉雕派的另一大特色為開鑿相對瓶唇較小的瓶口，而此鼻烟具有此特點。類似的拍品可見邦瀚斯於香港2010年5月28日的45號拍品。此外，這兩個鼻烟壺皆具有雕工細緻俐落的足部，且表面極度拋光。
形狀：圓角矩形
掏膛：規整
瓶口、頸部、瓶唇：圓柱形頸、平頭，非常小口
風格：留皮玉雕派製，1750-1850年
蓋：紅珊瑚在黑色片上，古雅雕勺
高(帶蓋)：7.2厘米
口徑：0.5厘米
頸部直徑：2.1厘米
重量：110.5克
品相完善，瓶唇有小細紋
美國私人收藏
文獻參考：Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang著《瑪莉與喬治布洛赫珍藏：中國鼻烟壺集》，卷1，香港，1996年，編號140。
相似拍品：一件類似原料的雕刻鼻烟壺，見蘇富比《瑪莉與喬治布洛赫收藏鼻烟壺》，香港，2013年5月27日，拍品編號144。另一件類似的作品，見邦瀚斯《DR. SYLVAN AND FAITH GOLDER收藏鼻煙壺》，2017年9月11日，紐約，拍品編號9108。