A PEBBLE-FORM JADE 'SHOUSHAN FUHAI' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG / JIAQING PERIOD

Acquired in Macau, 1969.
Collection of Gerd Lester, 1986.

Robert Kleiner, Boda Yang, and Clarence F. Shangraw, Chinese Snuff Bottles: A Miniature Art from the Collection of George and Mary Bloch, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 38.
National Museum of Singapore, Singapore, 1994-1995.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997.

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. 13.

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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The artificial staining, which sits on the surface of the stone in small patches of very thin colour, has seeped into crevices in the carving, indicating that it was applied after the carving was finished. In the case of the peach tree, the trunk and branches in relief are now of paler material, clearly out of the question if the relief were formed from natural skin area.

The attribution to the palace workshops is based not only upon this design, which was clearly popular at court although almost certainly not exclusively, but upon the distinctive hollowing, where a very well hollowed bottle is left with a relatively heavy foot area (in this case 0.93 cm). The staining of the material may also be an indication of court work. It was clearly a court habit or at least a habit on bottles made for the court during the eighteenth and perhaps early nineteenth century. 

This is the work of a consummate artist choosing to simplify and use raw, powerful forms and strokes, particularly for the water, to offset more refined work in details such as the peach tree and the bats. The rocks are particularly powerful, being very simple forms, but superbly balanced against each other and impeccably finished and polished. These different qualities of carving have been cleverly used by the artist as a textural language, as brushwork is varied in a masterly painting within the literati tradition to keep the abstract expressive element of the brushwork independently vital and intriguing quite apart from its representational role.

It is a lovely bottle in the hand, but is another example (like Sale 1, lot 7) which probably works better as a vertical sculpture if set down, despite having no foot, since the orientation of the design loses its dynamism if it is laid flat on a table. It is an ideal example where a tastefully designed stand might enhance rather than diminish the sculptural effect.