Bottle ID: 514

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BROWN, FINGER CITRON FORM

Date: 1840-1900

Height: 47 mm

Crystal, well hollowed, the clear stone suffused with dense clusters of brownish-red rutile needles and carved in the form of a Buddha's hand or finger citron.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no. 640
Moss, Hugh M. Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, 1971, p.34, no. 79.
The Chinese Porcelain Co. Chinese Snuff Bottles from The Fernhill Park Collection, 1991, p. 23, no. 90.
Sotheby's, New York, March 17, 1997, lot 242, The Dodge Collection.

Provenance:

Hugh Moss [HK] Ltd.
Wang Ning, Beijing

‘Hair crystal’ was found in China during the Qing dynasty in three varieties, the crystal containing either black (tourmaline), green (actinolite) or coppery-red (rutile) needle-like crystals. Black is by far the most common, while red and green are very much more rare. Other ‘needles’ which occur in crystal are the varieties of silver and golden colored and this type of crystal is nearly always from the post-1950s, when it was imported from Brazil. Of all known rutile hair crystals, this is by far the most densely packed with needles, and, partly because of this, is of the most intense color. The form is also extremely rare for a hair-crystal. The unique bottle is set off by an extraordinarily apt and charming old jadeite stopper carved in the form of a squirrel, which brings additional symbolism of fertility to the Buddhist symbolism of the fruit, arising from its strong, citrus fragrance leading to dishes of the fruit often being placed in the home or studio.

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