AN AMBER 'DOUBLE GOURDS' SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG / JIAQING PERIOD

Regency, New York, 1978.
Collection of Gerd Lester, 1986.

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1987, cat. no. 206.
Kleine Schätze aus China. Snuff bottles—Sammlung von Mary und George Bloch erstmals in Österreich, Creditanstalt, Vienna, 1993.

Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 7, Hong Kong, 2009, no. 1594.

One tiny chip near to the tip of the leaf at the base. 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. 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."

Like Sale 1, lot 113, this has an affinity with a series of mostly nephrite naturalistic snuff bottles probably produced at or for the court in the mid-Qing period. In this case, there is a close parallel in form and decoration as well as in naturalism and style. Magically transformed into white nephrite, this bottle would fit perfectly into this presumed imperial production, suggesting its likely origin. If a specific palace attribution is resisted, it is not because it is unlikely, but because there is no clear line to be drawn in such attributions. If a considerable proportion, and perhaps the majority, of all fine snuff bottles from the early phase of snuff taking were made at or for the court, such a heuristic attribution would be right more often than not, but one is in no position to confidently differentiate between imperial products of the time and other northern wares produced in response to imperial fashion in snuff-bottle manufacture.

There is an unusual type of dissonance between the interior and exterior walls here, one that is relatively rare in a transparent material. Although the carving of the exterior is of the usual high standard expected of courtly naturalistic bottles of this design, and the final polishing has been exquisitely achieved, the interior hollowing, while capacious and following the contours of the outer shape, has been left very rough indeed, even leaving the gouge marks of the initial hollowing process visible. No attempt was been made to polish it at all, which can only be a deliberate choice in the context of so masterly a carving. Perhaps the aim was to enable the golden sparkling caused by light reflecting off the rough surface as the bottle is turned in the hand and the smoothness of the exterior to set each other off to advantage.