A RARE 'MUTTON FAT' JADE IMITATION QUARTZITE SNUFF BOTTLE, 19TH CENTURY China. Of flattened ovoid form, with one small russet inclusion to one side, superbly hollowed. The stone is of an unusually even ivory-white color, and to accentuate this, a slightly glossier surface polish has been applied, which gives it the appearance of 'mutton fat' jade.

Provenance: French private collection.
Condition: Pristine condition with only very minimal natural flaws to the material and microscopic chipping to the lip.
Scientific Analysis Report: A report from the Natural History Museum, Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien), written and signed by Dr. Vera M. F. Hammer, dated 19 January 2022, confirms that the present lot is carved from quartzite.

Expert's note: A test on the Mohs scale reveals a hardness between 7 and 8.

Stopper: Aquamarine
Weight: 79.4 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 61 mm. Diameter neck 17 mm and mouth 7 mm

Quartzite is a term that has not been much used among snuff-bottle enthusiasts, with the result that bottles in this material often tend to get called by the wrong name. Deprived of its own independent weight as a distinct material, it tends to be drawn by the gravitational pull of the chalcedony group. Visually it is distinguished by a finely granular appearance that seems minutely and evenly speckled under a magnifying glass. The color is usually of a yellowish or beige tone, but it is also found in other colors, including gray, white, almost black, yellow, green, and richly speckled brown.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 23 November 2014, lot 125
Price: HKD 18,750 or approx. EUR 2,800 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A yellow-beige quartzite snuff bottle, Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th century
Expert remark: Compare the related form. Note the color variation of the quartzite.



十九世紀仿羊脂玉素面石英鼻烟壺
中國。扁平橢圓形，一面有一小塊斑紋，如籽玉留皮。掏膛極好。石料呈均勻的象牙白色，表面光滑瑩潤，看起來像“羊脂”玉。

來源：法國私人收藏。
品相：品相良好，只有極少的天然瑕疵和壺唇有微小磕損。
科學檢測報告：維也納Natural History Museum博物館 (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) Dr. Vera M. F. Hammer博士於2022年1月19日出具的報告，確認此鼻烟壺為石英。

專家注釋：莫氏硬度測試表明硬度介於7 與8之間。

壺蓋：海藍寶石
重量：79.4 克
尺寸：高 （含蓋）61 毫米. 頸部直徑17 毫米 及瓶口直徑7 毫米

石英石是一個在鼻烟壺收藏中不多見的術語，因為這材料往往被錯誤地命名，經常被歸於玉髓之類。從視覺上看，它的特點是外觀成細粒狀，在放大鏡下有細微而均勻的斑點。顏色通常是淡黃色或米色，但也有其他顏色，如灰色、白色、近黑色、黃色、綠色和帶有豐富斑點的棕色。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2014年11月23日，lot 125
價格：HKD 18,750（相當於今日EUR 2,800）
描述：十八或十九世紀清代黃米鼻烟壺
專家評論：比較相近的外型。請注意石英顏色的不同。