Bottle ID: 257

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CARVED, TWO CATS AROUND A ROCK

Date: 1780-1860

Height: 69 mm

Agate, very well hollowed, of large rounded bulbous form, the honey colored stone with golden and dark brown inclusions, continuously carved in low relief with two cats playing around a large rock from which leafy flowers and lingzhi fungus grow, while a butterfly flies above, the reverse with a blossoming prunus tree with a pair of long-tailed birds, one alighting on a branch.

Similar Examples:

Low, Denis S. K. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect III, 2007, p. 276, no. 241.
Beaussant Lefevre, Paris, France, November 18, 2005, lot 220.

Provenance:

Robert Hall

This bottle carved with its cats curled up on either side of a massive rock, is delightful. Although in some ways the scene as a whole is rather forced, the technical complexity of the design is astonishing. Often, it is the darker inclusions that are used to highlight the animal or figure, but in this case they provide a frame for the cats. The reverse of this bottle is also charming with a pair of long-tailed birds swooping among a blossoming prunus tree.

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