Page 14 - Christie's Chinese Snuff Bottled the Holden Collection March 24, 2022

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A SUPERB CARVED WHITE AND RUSSET JADE SNUFF BOTTLE
SUZHOU SCHOOL, 1750-1830 1750-1830年 蘇作白褐玉高仕圖鼻煙壺
The bottle is carved in high relief on one side with a bearded sage
來源:
standing amidst pine branches and rocks while pouring the contents of PB Eighty–Four, 紐約, 1979年10月11日, 拍品編號205及卷首圖
a vase into an urn at his feet, with a sack filled with ornaments and an Dr. Sidney A. Levine珍藏
unfurled banner nestled in the rocks to the left. The reverse is decorated Ashkenazie & Co., 舊金山
何瑞秋珍藏, 紐約
with another sage kneeling on a rock with the hands held together in a
gesture of praying. 出版:
2¬ in. (6.6 cm.) high, glass stopper 《國際中國鼻煙壺協會學術期刊》, 1979年9月, 頁35
何瑞秋, 《Rivers and Mountains Far from the World - The Rachelle R.
$40,000-60,000 Holden Collection, A Personal Commentary》, 紐約, 1994年, 頁278-279,
編號121
PROVENANCE:
PB Eighty-Four, New York, 11 October 1979, lot no. 205 and color
frontispiece.
Dr. Sidney A. Levine Collection.
Ashkenazie & Co., San Francisco.
Rachelle R. Holden Collection, New York.

LITERATURE:
JICSBS, September 1979, p. 35.
R. Holden, Rivers and Mountains Far From the World - The Rachelle R.
Holden Collection, A Personal Commentary, New York, 1994, pp. 278-279,
no. 121.

The high-relief carving and serrated rockwork, combined with the The figure shown kneeling with hands clasped as if in prayer may
effective use of the skin and other natural markings in the stone are represent Mi Fu. The depiction of the wise scholar, who valued and
key features of the Suzhou group represented by this extraordinary venerated unique stones and boulders, is an appropriate subject for such
bottle. See Yang Boda, "Jade. Emperor Ch'ien Lung's Collection in the a uniquely naturalistic pebble of jade.
Palace Museum, Peking," Arts of Asia, March-April 1992, where the
author states, "...the rusted skin of the jade obtained from river beds Hugh Moss discusses a related Suzhou pebble-form jade bottle, once
was highlighted to enhance the beauty of the piece. For instance, in in the the Mary and George Bloch Collection and now in The Water
carving jade mountains, the skin part was reserved for the mountain Pine and Stone Retreat Collection of Snuff Bottles, Hong Kong, in an
slopes and woods while the white core was used to depict the running online article entitled The Water Pine and Stone Retreat Collection of Snuff
rivers and waterfalls." This use of natural material added interest to Bottles, Part Two, Non-Imperial Influence over the Snuff Bottle Arts, The
the carved decoration and realism to the landscapes, while avoiding Zhiting School at Suzhou where he notes:
wastage of the raw material. The author also discusses the Qianlong
Emperor's interest in the jade market of Suzhou's Zhuanzhu Lane, "The epitome of this Zhiting-school style in pebble nephrite is the
the largest jade center in China. Suzhou's geographical position on famous bottle from the Bloch Collection 31.3.811. The inscription, in
the Imperial canal, combined with its gardens and canals, also led to an extraordinary double layer of relief skin-colouring, reads, Shi ru jin
its role as one of the main cultural centers in China. Many painters, 石如金 (‘[Cherish] stone as if it were gold’)—a precept that I honoured
calligraphers, poets and musicians lived in Suzhou, and their pursuits by irresponsibly outbidding all rivals to acquire it when it came up
and interests form the main subject matter of the group of agate and at the end of the first of the Bloch auctions in 2010: it made far, far
jade snuff bottles intricately carved in a style unique to the area. Such more than its weight in gold. The phrase ‘cherish the stone as if it were
artistic developments resulted in eighteenth-century imperial agents gold’ is a common declaration of principle among the many Chinese
scouring the area for intriguing products to satisfy an imperial passion who collect interesting, strange stones or who prize fine stones for
for novelty in art. seal carving and other arts: if it is to be carved, as little of the stone as
possible is to be removed."

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