PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION A Suzhou Russet, grey and black Jade Bottle1800-1850, raised inscription reading yu qiao geng du , Possibly School of Zhiting Of columnar rectangular shape, carved in low relief from a russet and beige inclusion or skin with a scene of a bearded robed scholar standing alongside a pine and pierced rockwork on one of the four sides and the remaining three sides with a continuous scene of a farmer carrying faggots, a boy atop a buffalo and a fisherman landing his catch below a cloud formation with the four-character inscription, the base cut with a shallow oval foot. 1 15/16in (4.9cm) high, stopper, box 大約 1800-1850 或爲芝亭派 白玉蘇作玉雕《漁樵耕讀》鼻烟壺 The scene represents the Yu Qiao Geng Du or 'Four Noble Professions or Occupations', the fisherman, farmer, woodcutter, and scholar. It is a popular decorative theme on snuff bottles in a variety of media. According to Confucian principles when all four professions are in harmony the country is sustained. The farmer, fisherman and woodcutter provide sustenance and fire and the scholar provides philosophic vigor. For an example of the subject in a blue and white snuff bottle, see Michael C. Hughes, The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Chinese Snuff Bottles , Baltimore, 2009, pp.270-271, no. 208.