Page 44 - March 15 2017 The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection
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                              A CARVED AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
                              1780-1850
                                 The bottle is fnely carved through variously colored markings of the semi-transparent
                                 brownish-grey stone with a spider lowering itself towards rocks from a peach-laden branch
                                 on one side, while a long-tailed bird perches beside another peach borne on a branch on
                                 the reverse.
                                 2 in. (5.1 cm.) high, glass stopper
                                 $5,000-7,000

                                              PROVENANCE

                                 Asian Art Studio, Los Angeles, 2011.
                                 Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 5219.
                                 The common word for spider is zhizhu. In Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Hong Kong,
                                 2006, p. 56, Terese Tse Bartholomew points out that the appearance of a spider
                                 indicates a happy event about to transpire, and that the name of the spider is a pun for
                                 “know” (zhi), making it a welcome sight to the viewer.
                              1780-1850年 瑪瑙巧雕喜從天降鼻煙壺

42 THE RUTH AND CARL BARRON COLLECTION OF FINE CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES: PART IV
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