A YELLOW JADE SNUFF BOTTLE

very well hollowed, of meiping form below a waisted neck and everted straightened mouth, the neatly carved foot encircling a recessed base, finely carved in low relief below the shoulder with a band of raised bosses set with two animal-face masks suspending mock-rings, the stone of a smooth yellow color with faint white and russet inclusions

George Fischer Collection, 1930s.
Guy Mayer Collection.
Gerry P. Mack Collection.
Gary Mack.
Christie's South Kensington, 4th October 1999, lot 107.
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd.

In good overall condition with very minor nibbles on the exterior mouth rim and one small edge has been polished. The base rim with two tiny nibbles. In otherwise good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This classically elegant meiping shape is related to a white jade bottle in the collection of the Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Chang Lin-shen, Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1991, p. 151, fig. 125, which bears a four-character Qianlong mark on the base. Another meiping form yellow jade bottle, also attributed to the Palace Workshops in Beijing, and carved with bands of formalized lotus petals around the shoulder and the base, is illustrated in Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Hong Kong, 1995, Volume 1, pp. 200-201, pl. 81. It shares the present bottle's truncated neck and lipped mouth, and exhibits the same subtlety of carving.

A flattened meiping yellow jade snuff bottle, uncarved on the exterior save for a pair of animal-mask handles, is illustrated by Denis S. K. Low, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect III, Hong Kong, 2007, p. 84, pl. 65. Another of the same shape is in The Crane Collection (www.thecranecollection.com, no. 236), and is also carved with archaistic motifs, as well as a pair of animal-mask handles at the shoulder.

The yellow color of the jade in this bottle is sometimes referred to as huangzhengli ('yellow steamed chestnuts'). The Qianlong emperor was particularly fond of the color, which, together with the archaistic elements and the refined silhouette, epitomize this group of Imperial bottles.