清十八 / 十九世紀 瑪瑙天然紋鼻煙壺

Robert Kleiner，倫敦，1997年

The snuff bottle is in overall very good condition with just a couple of natural abrasions to the surface.
"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."

Caves in Chinese art are generally a symbol of the mystic realm where going into a cave one might expect to come out the other side in an Arcadian realm – an idea embodied in the famous Peach Blossom Spring of Tao Yuanming 陶淵明 (365-427). The peaks rising from the naturally cloudy markings in what was known as ‘Western agate’ in China would automatically evoke the peaks of Huangshan 黃山rising from its ‘Sea of Clouds’.

Perhaps this effect is what Zhou Jixu 周繼煦 refers to in his Yonglu xianjie 勇盧閒詰評語 (cf. Richard John Lynn’s translation in the Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Summer 1995, p. 8). Zhou states, ‘genuine foreign agate is particularly rare’, adding that ‘the inside of the genuine kind resembles fish scales standing erect’. It may be that this material was indeed imported from the West (the word yang applies to any product that arrives by ‘sea’, but usually refers to European exports). Much earlier, Shen Defu 沈德符 (1578 – 1642) had written in Feifu yulüeh 飛鳧語略 that ‘agate from the Western Ocean is most prized’. Although Shen does not describe the unique features of Western agate, his observations support the idea that the material was in fact imported.