Bottle ID: 752

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PEBBLE, WITH SKIN, CARVED

Date: 1800-1900

Height: 74 mm

Nephrite, well hollowed, of flattened pebble form, the off-white stone with some russet-brown skin on one main side, carved in relief with leafy vines bearing double-gourds.

Similar Examples:

Crane no. 691
Hall, Robert, Chinese Snuff Bottles IV, p.27, no. 26

Provenance:

Bonhams San Francisco, December 17, 2018, lot 46 (part)
A Private Californian Collection
Christie's Hong Kong, May 2, 1995, lot 1442

 

Like the pomegranate, the gourd is a symbol of fertility being full of seeds. It is also associated with immortality as the monk Li Tieguai is always depicted with a double gourd slung over his shoulder. Li Tieguai, known as "Iron-crutch Li" is the second of the eight Daoist Immortals. He was one of the Immortals who descended to earth and took the form of a beggar, using his power to fight for those forgotten by society and in need. The double gourd with its narrow waist between the two "bulbs" is symbolic of heaven and earth and the corridor connecting those two worlds.

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