Bottle ID: 117

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CARVED, WHITE HORSE

Date: 1780-1860

Height: 61 mm

Agate, well hollowed, of flattened rectangular form with rounded shoulders and a neatly carved footrim, the pale honey colored stone with a dramatic white inclusion carved in relief as a prancing horse, one hoof raised, a yinyang symbol incised to one shoulder.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection nos. 192 and 637

Provenance:

Clare Lawrence Ltd.
The Dick Hardy Collection
Jack Rose, UK

 

Published:

Lawrence, Clare. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Dick Hardy Collection and Other Sources, 1991, p. 11, no. 6
Moss, Hugh M. Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, 1971, p. 51, no. 130

The horse symbolizes talent, and nowhere is this more obvious than with this elegant depiction of a prancing horse. This bottle is part of a small group of agate bottles where the white quartz inclusion is used as the main area of design against a background of honey colored agate. It is unlikely however that this is representative of a single workshop, but rather part of a larger group of artisans, as stylistically and in terms of subject matter, there appears to be strong similarities between these bottles and those in other materials such as jasper.

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