A FINELY CARVED JADEITE SNUFF BOTTLE

very well hollowed, of rounded, bulbous form, with a cylindrical neck and resting atop a flat oval foot, finely carved in low relief with one side depicting a pair of cranes in a rippling pond taking shelter below a tall lotus flower, the reverse carved with a pair of mandarin ducks paddling around an upright millet stem beneath scrolling clouds, the translucent stone with vivid apple-green splashes

Lilla S. Perry Collection.
The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Schoen.
Ann Meselson Collection.
The Collection of Eric Young.
Sotheby's London, 13th October 1987, lot 125.
Saito, New York.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 28th April 1997, lot 72 and cover.

Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles of the 17th and 18th Centuries from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Schoen, China Institute in America, New York, 1st December 1952 - 31st January 1953, cat.no. 8.

Bob C. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, New York and Tokyo, p. 123, no. 448.

The bottle is in very good condition overall. One side has bits of natural pitting to the stone affecting approximately 3/8 inch, but is very fine and barely noticeable.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The Qianlong emperor is known to have admired the brilliance of the apple-green color. This bottle has a detailed and skillfully carved surface, and the creamy-white inclusion of the stone lends an aura of misty atmosphere to the naturalistically rendered pond scenes.

The hollowing of this bottle lends a translucency to the walls, and is likely the influence of Mughal jade carving, a genre developed in the late 18th century and favored by the Qianlong emperor. An example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Snuff Bottles in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1991, fig. 228, p. 190, shares the present bottle's bright green color and characteristic mist-like effect of the white inclusions.