A CARVED AMETHYST AND BROWN CRYSTAL 'BUDDHIST LION' SNUFF BOTTLE Crystal (amethyst and brown crystal) of intense purple color with a brownish tone and some dark-brown streaks at the lion’s ball, fully figural carving and good surface polish. China, 1750-1850Fully figural amethyst bottles are rare and have in past been described as possibly imperial in some expert comments. This bottle is well hollowed and carved in the form of a Buddhist lion holding a ball, with detailed features such as the bushy tail, the somewhat archaic nostrils, the salient round eyes and curvy brows, and the four short yet sweeping paws. Among the forms taken from living creatures, the Buddhist lion was one of the more popular, not just in snuff bottles, but in the culture as a whole, having been the protector of dharma found in religious art as early as 208 BC. It was a common motif on early bronzes and ceramics and survived into the post-archaic period both in the form of independent sculptures and as decorative motifs on a wide range of arts and materials such as porcelain, jade and wood. It may also have been popular as a snuff-bottle design because from the group of symbolically powerful creatures it was amongst the most suited to the basic shape requirements of a snuff bottle.The Buddhist version of the Lion was originally introduced in Han China and was gradually incorporated as a guardian of the Chinese Imperial dharm. Lions seemed appropriately regal beasts to guard the emperor's gates and have been used as such since. There are various styles of guardian lions reflecting influences from different time periods, imperial dynasties, and regions of China. These styles vary in their artistic detail and adornment as well as in the depiction of the lions from fierce to serene. Over the centuries the widely popular concept subsequently spread to many other parts of Asia.Shape: FiguralHollowing: GoodMouth, neck and lip: Mouth succinct to depiction, slanted lipBase: NoneDesign, marks, school: Possibly imperialStopper: Matching amethyst stopperHeight of the bottle with stopper: 7.5 cm.Width of the mouth: 6 mm.Condition: ExcellentProvenance: American private collection, two old collection labels to bottomLiterature comparison: Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 2, Part 1, Hong Kong, 2007, nos. 243 and 247. (for two other figural amethyst bottles) BLOCH COLLECTION. Bonhams, Hong Kong, November 23rd, 2010, lot 34. Important Chinese Art, PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT AND MAURINE MUNT. Sotheby’s, New York, September 13th, 2016, lot 235. (for two figural amethyst ‘cicada’ bottles) FINE CHINESE ART. Bonhams, Hong Kong, November 28th, 2011, lot 13. (for a figural gourd amethyst bottle)清代紫晶“福獅”鼻烟壺品相極好美國私人收藏, 瓶底有兩個舊藏標簽