Bottle ID: 725

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AMBER, CARVED MONKEY, PEACH TREE

Date: 1780-1850

Height: 65 mm

Amber, very well hollowed, of flattened, rectangular form, with rounded shoulders sloping to a cylindrical neck and with a neatly carved oval footrim, the rich honey-brown amber carved in low relief on one main side with a monkey seated on the branch of a blossoming peach tree which grows from a rock, pointing at a wasp above him, a butterfly flying to one side, the reverse left uncarved.

Similar Examples:

Crane Collection no.s 182 and 745
Stevens, Bob C. The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, 1976, pp. 178-179, no. 701.
Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle - The J & J Collection, 1993, Vol. II, p. 501, no. 296.

Provenance:

Peter Bozzo
The Collection of Elsa Glickman, NY
Bonhams New York, September 12, 2016, lot 9003

Published:
 

Elsa Glickman. Chinese Snuff Bottle Mania, Stories of Collectors, Trade, Intrigues and Gotham's Auctions, New York, 2006, fig. G

 

Amber snuff bottles seem to have been a popular choice in the Qing Dynasty and also with snuff bottle collectors today, as there are a reasonable amount in the major published collections. Amber was easily carved and other bottles in the Crane Collection and in other collections show vibrant and skillful use of the material. Interestingly, most amber bottles fashioned from a rich, clear transparent piece of material have been left uncarved to show the simple beauty of the piece, whilst this example is delicately carved with the classic scene of the monkey sitting in a peach tree (the peach being a symbol of immortality). The carver has, however, left the majority of the bottle uncarved allowing for enjoyment of both the carving and the material.

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