Featured Chinese Snuff Bottles, cameo, carved, and.....

Inspired by Bronwen's love for cameos, etc, and our new snuff bottle collector (finally), Kaja, a special snuff bottle thread.
Carved snuff bottles, antique and not so antique. At the heart of my snuff bottle collection are carved stone bottles, but any beautiful, rare, or quirky snuff bottle is welcome.

The two oldest cameo-like bottles. Agate and carnelian, carved with Pixiu dragons, 18th century, Qianlong period, recent stoppers:


Another carnelian beauty, 18th-19th century:


Carnelian/agate with 'bamboo' surround and tiny carved loops for the cord, on the right nephrite jade:


Malachite, birds on branches:


More later today.....

 

Gorgeous, all. I especially like the way the first two appear to be shaped to fit comfortably in the hand & all must have tactile as well as visual appeal. More, more! Want to see, says Polyphemus.

 

Yes, love that too. They can't stand, were really made for use, not for a display cabinet like most. One of them has a Buddha's hand fruit carved on the back, it is almost like a human hand holding a stone with a tiny dragon.

 

Some carved Peking glass, vintage and antique, mostly later stoppers.

Glass overlay. Both on a frosted base. There are different terms for different types of frosting, but I tend to forget those.
The one on the right has double overlay, black and white over blue. It is 19th century:


Side view of the green dragon bottle, rear view of the lotus and bird bottle:


I always love aubergine overlay, on the left a bird on a lotus, on the right a forest dragon (mythical gecko):


No overlay, but shaded Peking glass.
A fierce looking Pixiu dragon, holding on for its life. Another bottle that can't stand. Pixiu guards riches. This is an old, used one, but these are copied nowadays:

 

Two fantail/goldfish bottles, ca 1950. Goldfish related things are given at Chinese New Year, they symbolize wealth.
On the left labradorite, on the right rutilated quartz, genuine pearl stoppers:


Two flower shaped bottles. These bottles were given to those who passed the official administration exam to become a civil servant.
Both bottles are Hetian/Khotan nephrite jade, from Xinjiang, Uyghur territory. Hetian/Khotan nephrite jade is highly sought after:

 

A beautiful collection AJ! Thank you for sharing.

 

Thanks, Judy. I'll be posting more, hope others do too.

 

More beasties.
Most of my Pixiu dragons are male ones, called Tiānlù. A Tiānlù protects riches. His tail is raised so you can see he has no 'hole' through which wealth can flow away.
Brown jade Pixiu with Imperial green jade stopper:


On the left a lapis lazuli Pixiu with coins and ruyi mushrooms. Not very old but beautiful and very intricately carved, the photo doesn't do it justice.
On the right a Hetian/Khotan river jade pebble, carved with a three-legged toad, coins and a bat (top), all auspicious signs. It is 18th century or older, the Imperial green jade stopper is recent.


A chalcedony swan with a lotus leaf, malachite stopper, 1950s.

 

And a bit of fun.
My little drum snuff bottle, bought by the previous owner in Taiwan in the late 30s. Green jade, jasper, onyx, lapis lazuli, and a malachite stopper, part of it is seen on the left below the drum sticks:


And three miniature bottles.
The centre one is agate inlaid with other semi-precious stones including malachite and lapis.
The two babies on either side are antique Peking millefiori glass. They are ca 3 cm high.

 

stunning collection, a real joy to view

 

Thank you charlie, seeing them always bring a smile to my face. It is just part of the collection, I probably have a couple of hundred, but that includes other materials and techniques.

 

Your collection is wonderful. One more fascinating than the next. I am learning how to photograph them. It is not easy and you did a great job. Thank you for sharing.

 

Do you know the significance of the design on the center bottle? Beautiful, and curious.

 

Thanks Kaja. I took most of them this morning, and we're in a storm here so the light was a problem. I always photograph in natural light, inside, near our terrace door, and mostly on white paper. For some I bent the paper with something propping it up behind, so it also served as a white background.

It is a stylized landscape, a bit Art Deco-ish. The malachite triangles are trees. I'll take a closeup tomorrow, it is dark here now.

Love to see yours.

 

Whooohhha couple of hundred! Your collection is very interesting, my favorites are the carved stones old ones and the funny drum

 

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

 

Mine too. The old ones look and feel wonderful, and the drum is such a cheerful little thing.

 

Now that's what you call "eye candy."
I love the idea of cupping them in the hand.

 

Simply put.....WOW.....AJ, they are ALL STUNNING!!!! What a wonderful collection!!!!

 

Thank you both.