Description
Nephrite; of slender cylindrical shape with a Wide mouth and narrow flared neck, resting on a deeply countersunk base, the material suffused with myriads of small white flecks.
Cylindrical snuff bottles in materials other than porcelain are rare and most of those recorded are attributable to the Imperial Workshops. This bottle is unusual in that it has flattened shoulders and a very narrow waisted neck but the combination results in a bold and dramatic profile, which is enhanced by the myriads of white flecks within the material which suggest a snow storm. Two snuff bottles in the Bloch collection are made from very similar material (see Treasury 1, nos. 169 and 170). A cylindrical blue glass snuff bottle with identical flattened shoulders and flared neck has been recorded which is dateable to the early eighteenth century on account of the extensive crizzling within its body and this might offer a clue to the dating of this bottle (Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of John Ault, no. 1). A flawless crystal snuff bottle of almost identical form including the flattened shoulders and flared neck is illustrated in Treasury 2, no. 230.
The Imperial Group of cylindrical bottles are made of chalcedony and moss agate and have sloped shoulders, an upright neck and a lipped rim (Treasury 2, nos. 348, 358 and 359) and a white jade bottle of matching form was exhibited in the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 1978 (Snuff Bottles of the Ch’ing Dynasty, no. 155). Two of this group have princely hall marks which helps date them to the later period of 1780-1850.
