Bottle ID: 243

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CARVED, DRAGON AND CARP

Date: 1750-1820

Height: 45 mm

Agate, well hollowed, of small flattened ovoid form with a neatly carved footrim, of pale honey color with a dark brown inclusion, carved in relief with on one side a dragon rising above turbulent waves, looking down at a sea serpent and water weeds, the reverse  with a carp rising from the waves, a pearl to one side.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection nos. 70, 341 and 363
Kleiner, Robert. Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection Denis Low, 1999, p. 217, no. 187.
Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. A Tresury of Chinese Snuff Bottles - The Mary and George Bloch Collection, 1998, Vol. 2, Part 2, pp. 386-387, no. 323.
Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle - The J & J Collection, 1993, Vol. I, p. 220, no. 132.

 

Provenance:

Clare Lawrence Ltd.
Sotheby's, Hong Kong, November 3, 1994, lot 944

Whilst mythical figures such as Liu Hai and his three-legged toad are depicted on bottles attributed to the Suzhou School, the more formal dragons tend to be significant by their absence.  The commercial carvers were steps away from the strictures of archaic imperialism, and they produced items commercially for their wealthy patrons, using designs taken from their immediate environment.  Whilst the merchant might aspire to emulate the scholar, he would have had little knowledge of court life and its imposing surroundings.  This is one of the few Suzhou School bottles published depicting a dragon rising above turbulent waves, looking down at a sea serpent and water weeds, the reverse with a carp rising from the waves, a pearl to one side.

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