A FOSSILIFEROUS LIMESTONE SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

Robert Hall, London, 1984.

Robert Kleiner, Boda Yang, and Clarence F. Shangraw, Chinese Snuff Bottles: A Miniature Art from the Collection of George and Mary Bloch, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 248.
National Museum of Singapore, Singapore, 1994-1995.

Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 3, Hong Kong, 1998, no. 403.

Small chip to the inner lip. Surface scratches and abrasions from wear.
"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."

There is a common series of bottles from this fossiliferous limestone which consists mainly of tubular markings usually disposed so that the two main sides cut through the tubular fossils to create a series of circular cross-sections of the tube. The commonest colour for this material is white on dark grey-black

(see, for instance, the J & J example in Moss, Graham, and Tsang 1993, no. 80, where it was suggested that these tubular fossils may be nothing more exotic than small marine creatures, but perhaps coral is more likely), but it varies in both size and colour, with the larger-diameter tubes looking a lot more like coral in structure.

Sale 2, lot 67, with its large black-on-white markings, is part of the same general range of material, although with its colours reversed. The colour here is even more exotic, with its brown ground and addition of unusual orange and brown markings, allowing all sorts of representational interpretations, among the three Star Gods standing in a celestial setting, surrounded, appropriately, by stars.

This is another of the unusually well-formed and well-hollowed fossiliferous limestone bottles, with excellent detailing and a lovely feel in the hand.