Page 107 - March 15 2017 The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection

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A CARVED WHITE JADE ‘COIN’ SNUFF BOTTLE
1766-1840
The bottle is carved in relief following the design of a Spanish silver thaler with a portrait of
Maria Theresa on one side and the royal Coat of Arms on the other.

2 in. (5.1 cm.) high, glass stopper
$3,000-4,000

PROVENANCE

Pat Miller Collection, Hawaii.
Robert Kleiner, London, 2008.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 4737.

This bottle belongs to a series of intriguing ‘coin’ bottles carved with the two sides of the
Spanish silver dollar which, along with a gold counterpart, were standard international
currency in trading during the 19th century. The present example, based on a 1765 Maria
Theresa thaler, is rare within the group. More commonly such ‘coin’ bottles feature the
portrait of Charles III, based on a 1781 coin. Jade ‘coin’ bottles are also unusual within this
group; bottles of this type are usually rock crystal, but examples have been found in other
types of quartz and, very rarely, in glass. For a discussion of this ‘coin’ group, see Moss,
Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuf Bottles, the Mary and George Bloch Collection,
Vol. 2, Hong Kong, 1998, pp. 154-157, no. 238.
1766-1840年 白玉雕西班牙銀幣紋鼻煙壺

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