A MOTTLED LAVENDER, WHITE AND EMERALD-GREEN JADEITE SNUFF BOTTLE, 1780-1880

The stone of white, sage-green and lavender tone, with veins of emerald green. Excellent finish.

China, 1780-1880

The well-hollowed body of faceted rectangular form with a minimally flared neck, the translucent stone of pale and deep lavender-blue, white, and sage-green with one small emerald-green vein.
Blue, lavender- or lilac-colored jadeite probably became available to the Chinese at much the same time as the better-known and more plentiful emerald-green jadeite. This leaves open the possibility that jadeite pieces of this more dramatic and exotic coloring could date from the late eighteenth century, although it is known that many were made during the latter part of the Qing dynasty and well into the Republican period.

Although the present bottle may feel heavy in the hand, it is because of its size rather than a lack of care in hollowing. Indeed, the interior is extremely carefully and evenly hollowed, through an extremely small mouth (only 5 mm. wide) leaving a wall thickness of only about 2-3 mm. The spectacular material combines a dynamic natural pattern of the deepest lavender color with a paler, icy-lavender color and a pale, sage-green.

Shape: Rectangular faceted
Hollowing: Very good
Mouth, neck and lip: Cylindric neck with slanted lip and flat top, very small mouth
Base: Rectangular with raised foot rim
Stopper: Coral cabochon on a faceted turquoise platelet with good patina, possibly matching
Height of the bottle with stopper: 5,9 cm.
Width of the mouth: 5 mm.
Width of the neck: 16 mm.
Weight: 80,5 grams
Condition: Excellent
Provenance: American private collection, old collector’s number to bottom

Auction result comparison: IMPORTANT CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE J&J COLLECTION. Christies, Hong Kong, 25 April 2004, lot 870. (for a jadeite bottle of similar color pattern)

四彩翡翠鼻烟壺，1780-1880年
福祿壽禧翡翠，完美磨光
中國，1780-1880年
長方形的壺身連接著略為喇叭形的壺頸，半透明的蒼石帶著亮白、薰衣草紫藍及鼠尾草綠三色，其中更夾雜著一絲翡翠綠
品相極佳
美國私人收藏，底部保有舊收藏編號