Skip to main content

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 1
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 2
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 3
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 4
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 5
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 6
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 7
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 8
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 9
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 10
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 11
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 12
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 13
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 14
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 15
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 16
An inscribed agate snuff bottle 1750-1860 image 17
Property from the Barbara and Marvin Dicker Collection of Snuff Bottles
Lot 7155

An inscribed agate snuff bottle
1750-1860

23 June 2015, 10:00 PDT
San Francisco

Sold for US$1,250 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

An inscribed agate snuff bottle

1750-1860
Very well-hollowed, of compressed spherical form, with a waisted neck, concave lip, fine oval foot ring, one of the main sides incised with a ten-character poetic inscription in two vertical lines, reading yu jian chuan hua guo, ni shang dai yue gui, followed with a Qianlong mark, framed by two faux lion mask-and-ring handles exquisitely carved in rounded relief.
2 1/4in (5.7cm) high

Footnotes

Provenance:
Pamela Martin, New York, acquired 26 January 1989

The first line of the poem may be translated as:
Jade shears dart through the flowers
The second line describes feathers on a gown shimmering in moonlight, resembling fluttering Daoist fairies in flight. The phrase ni shang may refer to a song named Ni shang yu yi qu (The Melody of the Gown of Shimmering Feathers). It is believed that the song was composed by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong (AD 712-756). Legend has it that the Emperor Xuanzong composed the melody in Luoyang during a Moon Festival when walking in the Moon Palace with a Daoist monk. Later in his reign, the melody was played at Taiqing Palace when worshipping Laozi, founder of Daoism in China. In the dance that was performed to this music the dancers wore dresses adorned with peacock feathers.

Additional information

Bid now on these items

A rare Chinese group of the Tyrolean Dancers, Qianlong period, circa 1752