Bottle ID: 275

< Previous page

SILHOUETTE, OCTAGONAL, BUDDHA

Date: 1750-1820

Height: 60 mm

Agate, very well hollowed, of flattened elongated octagonal form, the honey colored stone with darker brown inclusions, one side depicting the silhouette of a figure, perhaps Buddha, standing beside a rock holding a snuff bottle, the reverse with incised lines of poetry referring to Buddha and a seal.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no. 274
Chinese Snuff Bottles and Dishes. Catalogue of an exhibition from the Collection of Bob C. Stevens, Mikimoto Hall, Tokyo, 1978, p. 52, no. 117.
Sotheby's, New York, April 6, 1990, lot 306

Provenance:

Clare Lawrence Ltd.
Alexander Brody
Hugh Moss

Published:

Lawrence, Clare. The Alexander Brody Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, 1995, p. 23, no.26
JICSBS, Autumn 1994, front cover

This amazing bottle of slender faceted form depicts a contemplative figure seated beside a massive rock appearing to read or pray, or is that a small bottle that is the focus of his concentration? This is part of the fascination of these stones – they are only what the viewer or collector wants them to be. However, there is little doubt here, as the reverse of this bottle has an incised inscription relating to the contemplation of a Buddhist text, and reluctantly one must conclude that the figure is bent in prayer.

< Back to full list