A DENDRITIC CHALCEDONY 'PINE TREE' SNUFF BOTTLE OFFICIAL SCHOOL, QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

Jin Hing, Los Angeles, 1971. 
Collection of Margaret Prescott Wise. 
Collection of Edgar and Roberta Wise, 1995. 
Robert Kleiner, London, 1996. 

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. 325.

There is a nick to the outer lip and a partially polished chip to the outer footrim.
"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."

Stylistically this is unquestionably from the Cameo Ink-play Master, and it combines his choice of challenging, multi-coloured agate with extraordinary interpretation of the natural markings.

Certainly the interpretation is brilliant and thoroughly convincing, both pictorially and artistically. The ink-play of the rock and tree trunk is masterly, using the darker material as only part of the trunk of the ancient pine, the rest being carved in relief from the ground colour, to match exactly the pictorial representation one would expect on paper, where dark and light brush strokes are mixed to give the impression of a gnarled old tree riven with fissures. A branch that emerges from near the foot of the tree and cuts across the lower trunk is also brilliantly conceived, using some dendritic material to represent accretions of moss on the bare, dead branch. The clusters of pine needles are also masterly, with some in a fading dark colour, some in a pale yellow tone, and some from the ground colour, the last being an extraordinary touch of ink-play that would never have occurred to the standard chalcedony carver doing a pine tree. It perfectly integrates the yellowish tinge in the stone at the neck into the tree, leaving it as undefined foliage and allowing some natural dendritic markings that wrap around the neck to be read as more distant foliage, giving it much greater depth than it would otherwise have. It is certainly one of the more impressive pine trees in the medium and more than makes up for the slight problem with the foot and quibbles over the interpretation of the cliff face.