Bottle ID: 486

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RED, ROUNDED

Date: 1780-1850

Height: 56 mm

Jadeite, very well hollowed, of russet-red and pale, apple-green colors, of flattened spherical form with a waisted neck with everted mouth, and concave oval foot, the two natural colors in the stone clearly delineated vertically at the sides, one side entirely red, the other entirely green.

Similar Examples:

Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles - The Mary and George Bloch Collection, 1995, Vol. 1, pp. 438-439, no. 171.
Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle - The J & J Collection, 1993, Vol. I, p. 130, no. 67.
Hughes, Michael C. The Blair Bequest - Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Princeton University Art Museum, 2002, p. 46, no. 13.

Provenance:

Hugh Moss [HK] Ltd.
Robert Hall, London, July 2003
Sotheby's, Olympia, June 13, 2003, lot 771
Arthur Gadsby Collection [by repute]

Jadeite became an obsession with the Qianlong Emperor later in his reign, even to the point of him wasting immense sums of money and troops, who died in droves in the infested jungles of Burma, trying to conquer the site of the mines. It is likely that it was used sporadically before this time, became very popular at Court in the last quarter of the century, and was established as a highly valued stone. There is a series of extremely well-hollowed, finely coloured jadeite bottles which appear to date from the late Qianlong reign or early nineteenth century, of which this is one. It is a spectacular example due to the use of the material which is unusually evenly colored, and brilliantly disposed to give a sharp division in tone between the two sides. Whether or not the allusion is to a jade pebble with its rich russet skin remaining on one side is a moot point, but a persuasive idea!

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