AN AGATE ‘FISHERMAN’ SNUFF BOTTLE OFFICIAL SCHOOL, QING DYNASTY, MID-18TH / MID-19TH CENTURY

well hollowed, with a convex lip and a recessed, very slightly convex foot surrounded by a protruding flat footrim, carved on one side with a cameo design of a fisherman hooking a large carp out of a lotus pond watched by a woodcutter seated on a rocky outcrop behind him, his bundle of firewood set at his back, and on the other with a relief design of a monkey seated in front of a cave formed by natural markings in the stone, holding a peach in its left hand and scratching its head with its right hand, a second peach, with a twig and leaf attached, on the ground at its feet; the coral stopper carved with a chilong, with an enamelled silver finial in the form of a crouching frog, coloured in transparent turquoise and aubergine enamels, with a turquoise collar

Collection of Michael Stern.
Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1965.
Collection of C. F. Turner.
Sotheby’s London, 28th October 1970, lot 78.
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., 1985.

An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Sydney L. Moss Ltd, London, 1965, cat. no. 47.
Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Bloch at the Galleries of Sydney L. Moss, Ltd., Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1987, cat. no. 170.
Creditanstalt, Vienna, 1993.

Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 2, Hong Kong, 1998, no. 310.

The snuff bottle is in overall very good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The carving of this subject is as masterly as any known, with crisp and confident control of the medium and imaginative use of the material. The lotus flower over a leaf above the fisherman’s head is formed from a very pale, slightly yellowish-brown area that in the context of the other contrasts would probably have been ignored by many an artist. The monkey on the other side is carved with equal technical and artistic flair, using the natural striations in the material to form a perfect cave in front of which he sits.