Footnotes

• Treasury 7, no. 1584
  
  琥珀陰陽圖鼻煙壺
  
  An amber 'yin-yang' snuff bottle
  
  Flawless, transparent, orange-brown amber, the exterior surfaces extensively crizzled; with a flat lip and flat foot; carved on each main side with a raised central panel containing a yinyang symbol on a concave octagonal panel with eight radiating lines
  1720–1840
  Height: 4.75 cm
  Mouth/lip: 0.46/1.34 cm
  Stopper: mother-of-pearl; gilt-silver collar
  
  Condition: Material extensively crizzled; abraded losses to top of lip, perhaps where a stopper was once glued down; tiny chip to outer lip and footrim; one small chip to edge of one main side, and two smaller ones to edge of other main side. General relative condition: good
  
  Provenance:
  Alex S. Cussons
  Jeremy Cussons
  Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd (1996)
  
  Published:
  Treasury 7, no. 1584
  
  Unlike so many amber snuff bottles, this is of flawless material beneath the fine, random pattern of crizzling on its outer surface, although it is of a paler, more golden brown colour. There is an effective formal difference between the exterior shape and the shape of the interior hollowing, particularly striking because the central design on the two main sides is also circular. This cleverly provides a double frame for the central motif: a broader circular frame created by the interior form, and the octagonal outer frame of the exterior panel. Obviously, the two main sides were originally completely flat; to throw the central motif into relief, material has been removed in gradations towards the circular central panel.
  
  琥珀陰陽圖鼻煙壺
  
  無瑕透明琥珀，表面布滿細裂紋；平唇，平底，兩正面雕琢太極圖樣，周圍凹面上陰刻八條放射線
  1720–1840
  高﹕ 4.75 厘米
  口徑/唇徑： 0.46/1.34 厘米
  蓋﹕ 貝母; 鎏金銀座
  
  狀態敘述：質材細裂紋多，唇上邊呈擦掉痕，也許是曾有膠體，唇外緣及圈足有微乎其微的缺口，一正面棱角有小缺口，反面棱角有兩個小缺口。 一般性相對的狀態﹕善
  
  來源:
  亞歷克斯．庫森斯
  Jeremy Cussons
  Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd (1996)
  
  文獻﹕
  Treasury 7, 編號 1584
  
  跟許多琥珀 鼻煙壺不一樣，本壺細裂紋之下質料無瑕 。外壁、內壁、太極圖的相互襯托的美術效果令人驚奇佩服。

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Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art

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