Page 174 - September 20 2021 Chinese Works of Art Bonhams NYC

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PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION
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A GRAY, CELADON AND RUSSET JADE SNUFF BOTTLE This is an exceptionally well carved bottle with a masterful design
Suzhou, School of Zhiting, 1750-1850 which manages to convey the appearance of enormous space, with
Of flattened spade shape, carved in a continuous scene around a lone contemplative figure set in a vast landscape, on the confines
the bottle, cleverly using the russet, brown and grey inclusions of this relatively small object. For Suzhou workshop output, the
to purposeful effect to depict a lone seated figure apparently in carving is relatively subtle compared to the high-relief decoration more
contemplation dwarfed from behind by a large area of ‘serrated’ commonly witnessed. The combination of a restful figure in thought on
rockwork and a pierced Taihu rock with subtly suggested bamboo one side and an elegant un-crammed inscription on the other create
out-growths, he stares out toward further ‘serrated’ rocky outcrops a calm dynamic that pervades the bottle. The addition of a slightly
and an overhanging wutong branch, the rockwork continuing to waisted neck, again an unusual, though not unknown feature of the
the reverse side which is centered by a six-character Daoist poetic school, adds grace to the outline.
inscription in low relief followed by a signature, Jushi, a flat oval base
and a waisted neck with a concave mouth with small opening. For another Suzhou nephrite bottle in which a similar material of
2 5/16in (5.9cm) high, stopper unusually greenish and beige tone is used, see Hugh Moss, Victor
Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The
$6,000 - 8,000 Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 1,Jade pp. 308-309, no. 123.
The same subtle gradations of color tone that shift through our bottle,
1750-1850年 蘇州芝亭流派 青玉雕人物詩文圖鼻煙壺 can also be seen on Bloch example, and the authors note that the
pale beige-brown material might have occurred near the surface of the
pebble with the outer skin entirely removed. More likely it is simply a
different plane of color in the core material, not uncommon in nephrite,
whether of pebble or mined material.

See also ibid., p. 311, no. 124, for another Suzhou bottle with an area
of rockwork that favorably compares with that found on one narrow
side of our bottle.

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