Bottle ID: 720

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BURL WOOD

Date: 1780-1900

Height: 57 mm

Burl wood, (possibly huamu: birch burl), very well patinated, of flattened squared form, with rounded shoulders sloping to a cylindrical neck, carved with a circular decorative band, the sides carved with mock mask and ring handles, and with a well-carved splayed oval footrim. Together with its original matching stopper in burl wood, carved with a seated Buddhist lion.

Similar Examples:

Moss, Hugh, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang. A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles. The Mary and George Bloch Collection. Volume 7, Organic, Metal, Mixed Media, part 1. Hong Kong, Herald International Ltd., 2009, pp. 28-29, no. 1473 and pp. 30-31, no. 1474

Provenance:

Prince Jenkins Antiques, Cape Cod, MA., 1993
The Collection of Ruth and Carl Barron, no. 575
Christie's New York, March 16, 2016, lot 452

 

It is not a simple task to recognize from what type of tree a burl has been taken, however most snuff bottles have the appearance of being produced from birch burl. Birch trees have grown in Manchuria, home of the Qing rulers, for centuries. Burl wood snuff bottles are either usually left in their irregular natural shape or are cut and polished to show off the natural beauty of the burl, as is the case with this bottle. Extra care has been taken with the mask handles on the narrow sides, and with the original matching stopper, which are all very well and intricately carved. The Bloch bottle, no. 1474, listed under similar examples, is the only known burl wood bottle which is dated with the foot carved in regular script with a six-character mark: Guangxu yuannian zhi zhao ('made in the first year of the Guangxu reign'), corresponding to the date 1874. Its shape is also indicative of that date as many cylindrical porcelain bottles were produced during this period of the same shape and size.

 

 

 

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