Bottle ID: 371

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SQUARED FORM

Date: 1750-1820

Height: 57 mm

Serpentine, of squared form with rounded shoulders and with a shallow oval footrim, very well hollowed, the rich yellowish-green tone with cloudy patches, a thin horizontal band of crimson running concentrically above the foot.

Similar Examples:

Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle - The J & J Collection, 1993, Vol. I, p. 141, no. 76.
Hughes, Michael. C. The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. Chinese Snuff Bottles, 2009, pp. 186-187, no. 147.
Beaussant Lefevre, Paris, France, November 18, 2005, lot 238.

Provenance:

Clare Lawrence Ltd.
Sotheby's, New York, September 15, 1998, lot 381
Neal W. and Frances R. Hunter

Although catalogued as bowenite, this bottle is more likely to be part of the larger group of serpentine. There are up to twenty different varieties of serpentine, but all are rock-forming minerals. The range of colors go from white, through to yellow, green, brown and even black, with the majority of pieces surrounding the olive-green range. The material can be opaque or translucent and of smooth or mottles appearance. In the similar examples below, the bottles are described as serpentine with the exception of the Chester Beatty bottle which is described as bowenite.

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