Page 64 - CHRISTIE'S Barron Collection Snuff Bottles 09/13/17

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A CARVED AQUAMARINE SNUFF BOTTLE
1800-1890
The bottle is of transparent stone of even color, carved in low relief with a scene of ‘The Two
Qiao Sisters,” seated together and reading a book below a fying bat. The scene continues
to the reverse with a rocky mound issuing a lingzhi fungus below another fying bat.
2¡ in. (6 cm.) high, carnelian stopper
$15,000-20,000

PROVENANCE

Robert Hall, London, 2001.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 3197.

EXHIBITED

Boston, International Chinese Snuf Bottle Society Convention,
The Barron Collection, 23-26 September 2008.
While the fnest gemstones of aquamarine are of fawless blue color, pieces large
enough to be fashioned into a snuf bottle are never fawless. As seen here, the material
is permeated with natural faws, which refract the light and add a complementary
shimmering efect to the material.
For a discussion of the Qiao Sisters, see Ma Zengshan, Inside-Painted Snuf Bottle Artist
Ma Shaoxuan (1867-1939), Maryland, 1997, pp. 32-35.
1800-1890年 海藍寶石雕二喬讀書圖鼻煙壺

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