A BLACK AND WHITE JADE SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, JIAQING / DAOGUANG PERIOD

Sotheby's London, 6th and 9th May 1986, lot 317. 

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. 151.

There is a barely perceptible chip to the inner lip and two equally miniscule to the outer footrim. There is also one tiny chip to the black skin surface, near the left narrow side. The snuff bottle is otherwise in 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 mark here is very similar both in style and execution to that on lot 90 in this sale, where the incising is not partially hidden beneath pigment and can be seen to be correct for the period. Prince Ding (定郡王, Zaiquan 載銓 1794 – 1854) used a variety of scripts and methods of inscription on his hardstone snuff bottles and other works of art, and this was obviously one of the possible alternatives.

The mark’s appearance on this bottle and Sale 7, lot 47, which have a standard form for the mid-Qing period (Sale 3, lot 82 is an unmarked example with a similar form) allows two possible conclusions. Either the prince had a liking for the type and bought earlier bottles to be inscribed with his name, or the type was still being made during the first half of the nineteenth century, when he would have been commissioning bottles. The two possibilities are perhaps equally likely.

The aspect of this bottle that makes it unique, not only among jade snuff bottles of this group, but among the entire output of Chinese jade carving throughout history, is the material from which it is carved. It is the only known example of this group of nephrite bottles with a black skin and the only piece from the entire history of jade carving where the skin could reasonably be described as dendritic. Its quality is remarkably like that of dendritic chalcedony, with a fine network of tree- or moss-like markings included naturally in the stone.