A CYLINDRICAL DENDRITIC CHALCEDONY SNUFF BOTTLE QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Charles McCullagh.
Robert Kleiner, London, 1993. 

Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 252.
Chinese Snuff Bottles in the Collection of Mary and George Bloch, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997. 

Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, Autumn 1993, inside back cover.
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. 359.

The overall condition is very good, with only some expected light wear to the lip. The stone has some natural inclusions and surface pitting. The actual colour is richer than the catalogue illustration.
"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."

This is a magnificent example of the rare tapering-cylinder group exemplified by Sale 5, lot 77 with the hall mark of Yongxing 永瑆, 1752–1823, eleventh son of the Qianlong emperor, and by Sale 6, lot 194. However, it is the material exception in the small group, being made of dendritic chalcedony of the type known as moss-agate, with an unusually fine network of inclusions. It is the narrowest of the three, but is very similarly hollowed and has the same foot and neck-rim details.

The mark on the base is that of the fifth Prince Ding (定郡王, Zaiquan 載銓1794 – 1854). Two other bottles belonging to him, lots 77 and 190 in the present auction, bear cyclical dates corresponding to 1849 and 1851, respectively.

Zaiquan inherited the title of Prince Ding only in 1836, but his ownership of the Xingyouheng tang has nothing to do with that elevation. It is not known at what point he started to use this name to inscribe his works of art, but he was using the title in 1848, since he published a collection of verses under the title Xingyouheng Tang chuji 行有恒堂初集 (First collection from the Xingyouheng tang) in that year.

There are traces of gold pigment in the incisions for the mark, suggesting that it was once filled with gold. It seems to have been the custom to fill incising in either gold or red (for discussion, see Sale 2, lot 22) during the mid-Qing period, and there is one imperial jadeite bottle in this collection that has calligraphy filled with green pigment (Sale 1, lot 21).