Bottle ID: 320

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GRAY WITH QILONG DRAGON

Date: 1750-1800

Height: 64 mm

Nephrite, very well hollowed, of flattened rectangular form with sloping shoulders and a neatly carved footrim, carved on one side with a coiling Qilong, the gray stone stained with brown resembling the skin of the jade.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection nos. 149, 229, 455 and 516
The Au Hang Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Jihu Jingshe, Canada, 1993, pp. 94-95, no. 119.
Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle - The J & J Collection, 1993, Vol. I, p. 99, no. 41.

Provenance:

Clare Lawrence Ltd.
Sotheby's, December 18, 1996

Exhibited:

Annual Convention ICSBS New York, November 2013

Published:

JICSBS, Autumn 2013, Front Cover

 

The Qianlong Emperor had a penchant for archaism, and this included staining pieces to give them an 'older' look. How this was achieved is not completely understood to this day. In the case of this bottle however, archaism does not appear to be the intention of the maker. It is a purely artistic choice to evoke the dragon flying through the clouds and as such it succeeded admirably. The draon is the highest ranking of the four divine beasts and is an ancient symbol of fertility bringing rain to the crops.

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