清十八世紀中葉 / 十九世紀初 白玉仿古「夔龍」紋鼻煙壺 或御製

well hollowed with a concave foot and broad, flat footrim, carved with an identical design on each side with confronting kui dragons shown with a raised boss representing a flaming pearl between their heads, their bodies covered with archaistic scrolling patterns and raised bosses, the flawless stone of an even white tone; the tourmaline stopper with a silver collar

Clarence Hanson 收藏，1982年
Gerd Lester 收藏，1986年

Hugh Moss、Victor Graham 及曾嘉寶，《A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection》，卷1，香港，1996年，編號29

The overall condition is very good. The lip and footrim are in good condition. The actual colour of the white jade is of a warmer tone compared to the catalogue illustration.
"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 dragon depicted here is of a hybrid type. It has the formalization of the typical kui dragon, with legs transformed into foliate design elements and the body covered with archaistic motifs, but the head of the softer, more lizard-like chilong. It is typical of Qianlong archaism, where the subject of formalized confronting kui dragons was particularly popular at Court on a series of snuff bottles in hardstones and glass, many of which can be dated to late in the reign. Given the popularity of archaic chilong and kuidragon motifs at Court and their relative rarity as primary decoration at other centres during the Qianlong period, there is a reasonable basis for believing that this bottle may have been one of the many thousands undoubtedly made for the Court that did not bear reign marks. In fact, it is only rarely that reign-marked jade bottles with genuine, original marks are found, and among these anything other than a Qianlong mark is still rarer, although there are a few other jade objects, such as inkstones, cups with cup stands and bowls with Jiaqing and Daoguang marks and, still more rarely, later ones.

The popularity of this subject during the late Qianlong period suggests the possibility that this might date from the post-1760 period, in which case there were as many as eight imperial facilities producing jade for the court and it could have been made in any of them, including the Palace Workshops. The impetus of the Qianlong emperor’s personal interest in jade and close surveillance of jade carving style, particularly during the latter part of his reign, suggests that Qianlong quality and style would have been maintained well into the Jiaqing period, and perhaps even into the Daoguang.