Bonhams 1793 : An agate 'jujube and peanuts' snuff bottle Qing dynasty, 1750-1850

24 Nov 2012 10:00 CST Hong Kong
The Paul Braga Collection of Snuff Bottles
Back to auction 20524

An agate 'jujube and peanuts' snuff bottle

Qing dynasty, 1750-1850
The attractive variegated orange-beige and honey-brown stone carved in the form of a jujube, with curvaceous incised lines, terminating in a slightly recessed node at the base, further accentuated by russet tones of maroon and egg-yolk yellow with four peanuts and a plum blossom on the exterior.
5.1cm high.

Sold for HK$ 37,500 inc. premium

Footnotes

Exhibited:
Chinese Snuff Bottles, jointly presented by Hong Kong Chinese Snuff Bottle Collectors Study Group and the Urban Council, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 15 Oct to 26 Nov 1977

Illustrated:
Chinese Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1977, pp.89 & 128, pl.203

The combination of jujubes and peanuts is a typical toggle in jade carvings and snuff bottles made for the Imperial court. See an Imperial nephrite bottle inscribed with a Qianlong reign mark from the Edward T. Chow Collection, illustrated by Robert Hall, The Art of an Imperial Addiction. Chinese Snuff Bottles VII, London, 1995, pp.56-63, no. 8. The Chinese term for jujubes, zaozi is a homophony for 'early son', while peanuts is a pun for 'giving birth'. Taken together, the jujube and peanuts can thus be interpreted as 'may you soon give birth to a distinguished son'.

For another agate snuff bottle in the shape of a jujube, see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum 47, Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2003, p.165, pl.255. See also a snuff bottle of similar texture and decoration, but of compressed form, formerly in the J & J Collection, and now in the Adelina and Roberto Foti Collection, illustrated in the Atomo Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, 2009, p. 42, no. 37. For a similar example in chalcedony, see Clare Lawrence, Miniature Masterpiece from the Middle Kingdom: the Monimar Collection of Chinese snuff bottles, London, 1996, no.49.

清 1750-1850 瑪瑙巧雕早生貴子鼻煙壺

展覽：
香港中國鼻煙壺收藏家學會、香港市政局聯辦，《中國鼻煙壺》，香港藝術館，1977年10月15日至11月26日

出版：
《中國鼻煙壺》，香港藝術館，香港，1977年，頁89及128，圖版203

壺作棗形，表面陰刻曲綫以模仿棗皮紋，瑪瑙中天然紋理及暗淡沁色仿佛一層蜜糖炮製過的金絲蜜棗，周身再以瑪瑙天然外皮浮雕四顆花生，壺身一面巧作一朵桂花，蘊含「早生貴子」之美好寓意。此壺利用瑪瑙天然色澤雕琢而成，惟妙惟肖，形象逼真。

此類以蜜棗花生為主題，多見於清代為宮廷所作所作的玉雕及巧雕瑪瑙鼻煙壺之上。參看仇炎之舊藏一件軟玉雕早生貴子瓶，刻有「乾隆御玩」款識，而其主題與其他用瑪瑙所作鼻煙壺基本一致，見Robert Hall，《Chinese Snuff Bottles VII》，頁56-63，編號8。北京故宮博物院藏意見瑪瑙蜜棗形鼻煙壺，見李久芳、張榮編《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：鼻煙壺》，香港，2003年，頁165，編號255。另一件例子，可參考Clare Lawrence，《Miniature Masterpiece from the Middle Kingdom: the Monimar Collection of Chinese snuff bottles》，倫敦，1996，編號49。