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Hello to everyone on this amazing site. I started collecting smaller engraved or carved oriental pieces a few years ago - I gave up on my passion for coins due to rising prices and the number of good fakes.
The problem is that I'm quite ignorant (I know about coins but this isn't the place). I cannot tell the difference between bone, ivory and plastic nor can I tell the country of origin for most items. I do nevertheless appreciate the intricacy of some oriental pieces and I'm trying to learn more. I could soon become a very unpopular member due to asking dumb questions - please make some allowances.
One of the first items I acquired was an interesting and presumably Chinese snuff bottle depicting Zhong Kui (I think). Looking into Chinese mythology and the skills used to make this bottle is what set me appreciating oriental works. I have attempted to provide two images of the snuff bottle.
I shall soon be heading towards the 'Help Identify This' section to show some of the things which have me completely bamboozled. Season's Greetings to all, Mik
@Mik,
Hi Mike,
Firstly welcome to this great forum!
Yes your snuff bottle is indeed chinese. From your two pictures it would appear to be made from agate with a rose quartz stopper.
Unfortunately I am unable to determine if the stone has been treated or not. Further pictures of the base may help determine its age.
Has the inner core been fully hollowed out or is it just a straight carved out line similar to a long gated rectangular shape? You will need a strong light and loupe to perform this task. These are essential tools when collecting asian antiques etc.
There have been many discussions here on ivory, bone and resin. You can access these by clicking on to the rectangular black box with the green question symbol. It's located above and looks like this:
Simply type in the discussion thread like 'ivory and bone' or 'jade'. You can refine your search by adding words like 'is this jade' or 'is this ivory'.
Remember pictures are important when members try to help you. Clear pictures that are not dark or blurry are essential. History and size are also important.
Hope this helps you.
Regards,
Mark
Hi Mik,
I would like to echo Mark's welcome and add not to worry about asking what you feel might be "dumb" questions. Everyone has to start somewhere, we all have questions that you worry will sound silly but they often lead to some very interesting discussions that benefit lots of us.
Enjoy the site!
Julia
Hello Mark & Julia and thank you for the warm welcome plus the information.
I cannot access the bottle at present and am working from memory plus the photos I took a couple of years back. If I recall correctly the bottle is fully hollowed out. I must apologize for not understanding stone being treated and - to be honest - I genuinely haven't thought about its age. From memory I suggest that it stands about 4 inches tall (but the good wife says I'm lousy at measurements) - I might have to dig it out tomorrow (nowhere safe for display currently).
Thank you both again and very best wishes, Mik
Hi Mike,
Thank you for your additional information and pictures.
We have a member here, Giovanni aka @theclayandbrush.He is extremely good with snuff bottles etc. Hopefully he will visit to post his thoughts on age etc.
I am hopeless with dating snuff bottles by the way. I don't think it's old but I could be totally wrong. I usually am with snuff bottles. 😁
My area is mainly republican period porcelain 1912-1949, jades, ivory, Chinese furniture, japanese porcelain and bronzes from the Meiji period 1868-1912.
Mark
Dear Mark, thank you for the appreciation, a bit too high😊
Dear Mik, you have a quite good bottle there. It is agate as suggested by Mark, and I do not think that it has been stained, the color looks natural to me.
The carving is very good, surely over the average. It is difficult to spot its age; in my opinion it is not new but also not very old. I would say about beginning of 20th century.
The decoration is a bit odd to me. On one side there is Zhong Kui, as you said, who is often depicted with bats. But the bats on the opposite side are represented among vapors, as they usually are when represented with Li Tieguai, who should actually hold a double gourd from which the vapors are emanating, not a vase.
But this is not detracting at all from the bottle, which is very well carved, well hollowed as we can see through the mouth, and as an extra bonus the stopper/spoon/cork are also snice and showing some age.
Well done, a bottle worth the be kept.
I do not think that it is 10 cm high, it should be about 6 – 7 centimeters.
Regards,
Giovanni
Hello Giovanni
thank you so much for all this additional information, I'm learning fast! I dug out the bottle and it is 6.8 cm high (7.9 cm with cap) - I told you measurements aren't my strong point or maybe my memory is fading.
This is by far the best snuff bottle that I own. I have some resin? bottles which I was led to believe were tourist souvenirs from the mid 20th Century plus a couple of small enamelled copper bottles which I assumed (rightly or wrongly) might have been used for perfume. I think some of these other bottles may have to visit eBay 🙂
thank you again and very best wishes from the UK, Mik
Hi Mik - and as with Mark and Julia, welcome to this wonderful forum ...
Not my area at all, but Mark, and especially Giovanni who has great knowledge in this field, has pass on some excellent thoughts and advice ...
Stuart
@mik Greetings and way to start out strong! It's not often that Giovanni gets so impressed by a snuff bottle on here so congratulations. Of course, now that you already showed your best piece it's all downhill from here on! 😀 At any rate welcome to the forum and don't worry about asking lots of questions and not knowing much because that has defined my entire time participating on the forum and they haven't tried to run me off yet so you're probably safe. In fact, everyone is very helpful and rather forgiving of those like myself with limited knowledge, so by all means post frequently and ask away. Cheers! John
Hi and thank you Stuart & John
John you are quite correct regarding 'best piece'. I should have started with a cheap brass dragon dish (have a few). I think the only good thing to emerge from the current pandemic is that it's stopped me going to flea markets and buying interesting items (which my good wife will expertly identify as 'bin fodder').
all the best, Mik
@mik Well here at the forum you are in good hands. The kind members have saved me from making several bad idea purchases. Of course, I don't always wait and can certainly make spontaneous buys without seeking advice here first which then means I have to go through the post it and pray phase, where I dream of everyone jumping for joy in celebration from the blurry pictures I put up after the fact of my hopefully Imperial thrift store $3 find, only to usually discover that it is something rather ordinary or maybe not even Asian. But hey, I'm learning! Cheers!
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Kangxi vases, Kangxi dishes and chargers, Kangxi ritual pieces, Kangxi scholar's objects, Qianlong famille rose, Qianlong enamels, Qianlong period paintings, Qianlong Emporer's court, Fine porcelain of the Yongzheng period. Chinese imperial art, Ming porcelain including Jiajing, Wanli, Xuande, Chenghua as well as Ming jades and bronzes.
The BidAmount Asian Art Forum | Chinese Art
A free Asian art discussion board and Asian art message board for dealers and collectors of art and antiques from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the rest of Asia. Linked to all of the BidAmount Asian art reference areas, with videos from plcombs Asian Art and Bidamount on YouTube. Sign up also for the weekly BidAmount newsletter and catalogs of active eBay listing of Chinese porcelain, bronze, jades, robes, and paintings.
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