Bottle ID: 212

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GRAY-GREEN, FLATTENED, CARVED WITH MYRIAD SHOU

Date: 1780-1850

Height: 68 mm

Nephrite, greenish-white, very well hollowed, of flattened circular form tapering towards the foot, with a flared, cylindrical neck and concave lip, carved in low relief on each side with tiny, circular shou (‘longevity’) characters in archaic script.

Similar Examples:

Snuff Bottles - The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Vol. 47, Beijing, 2003, p. 151, no. 228.
Low, Denis S. K. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect III, 2007, p. 88, no. 68.
Sotheby's, Hong Kong, May 3, 1995, lot 421, The Alex S. Cussons Collection.

 

Provenance:

Hugh Moss [HK] Ltd.

This is an unusually large, but fine example from a prolific school of hardstone carving which specialized in jade and quartz, producing wares throughout the Qing dynasty. In nephrite, the group is characterized by superb hollowing and shaping to the limits of the inner profile of the body and outwardly, by repetitive designs in low relief on the surface. As a rule these bottles tend to have (or to indicate where a concealing brocade is tied around them) 100 of these circular shou characters, made up of fifty on each side. This example has more than 100 on each side, and the obvious implication is of innumerable characters. The motif has become a symbol by this stage, rather than an archaic character as such, although the style is based upon seal script. In later bottles, the script itself has been corrupted by its use as a circular, repetitive medallion.

 

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