A CARNELIAN AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

Trojan Collection.
Robert Hall, London, 1993.

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 405.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997.

Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles V: From the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Trojan, London, 1992, no. 42.
Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 2, Hong Kong, 1998, no. 262.

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."

This is one of the great undecorated agate bottles, in a class both technically and artistically with the famous example that was on the poster for the Hong Kong Museum exhibition of 1977 (see Moss, Graham, and Tsang 1993, no. 116) and a small handful of other agate masterpieces where an extraordinary natural material has been carved by a lapidary with both total technical mastery and the good taste to allow the material to speak for itself (Sale 1, lot 80, Sale 7, lot 78, Sale 8, lot 1043, and lot 120in the present sale). While one is tempted to wonder whether this delightful piece of stone could have become even greater with some masterful additional surface carving, there is an equal sense of relief that nothing of the sort was attempted.

Formally the bottle fits into the broad and common group of bottles that are manipulated spheres. As such, apart from the technical perfection of its achievement, it is not outstanding, and the only hint of formal genius beyond faultlessly creating a standard form is in the profile of the neck. It is very slightly tapered towards the lip, a way of reducing the solidity of the simple cylindrical neck and harmonising its impact on the gentle curves of a continuously rounded form. There is barely half a millimetre difference between the radius of the top and bottom of the neck. Visually, however, it makes a far greater impact. It is quite an unusual feature on a bottle of this shape, and the reason for it seems to be to balance the markings in the stone. On both sides, the pattern of agate sweeps downwards and outwards, or conversely, tapers towards the neck. By tapering the neck, the lapidary accentuates this momentum, adding greater power to both design and form, seeming to gather the energy of the lines at the neck, as a purse with ties is gathered at the neck. This device also lightens the impact of the stopper, which can be smaller than otherwise.

This is another of the great ink-play agates without any surface editing. A number of different representational interpretations are possible, as with so many plain agates with natural markings.