A TURQUOISE MATRIX SNUFF BOTTLE, CHINA, 18TH CENTURY
Of flattened form, well hollowed, the rounded rectangular body supported on an oval foot rising to a short cylindrical neck with a narrow mouth. The stone of variegated turquoise and green tones, some areas with a yellowish tinge, and dramatic dark blue veining of the matrix on either side.


Provenance:
From a prominent New York snuff bottle collector.

Condition:
Very good condition with expected old wear and some organic weathering. The stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks over time. Very minor nicks around the rim.

Stopper: Sapphire with a beaded gilt metal collar, probably matching and also dating to the 18th century
Weight: 83.9 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 68 mm. Diameter neck 19.5 mm and mouth 6 mm.


The universal gem standard for turquoise
is that the more brilliant the sky-blue color, the more valuable the stone, but in China, it is clear that both green and blue veined material was equally valued. The evidence lies in snuff bottles made from other materials that evoke turquoise. Of the entire turquoise range of Qing glass snuff bottles, many more are of a green tint than a sky-blue one. Porcelain imitations of the material are even more informative. Both the green and blue varieties were regularly copied during the mid-Qing period. One of the finest imitation turquoise bottles is in the Ault Collection (Kleiner 1990, no. 131). It probably dates from the late eighteenth century and is of a distinctly green color. In the same publication, a magnificent and unique porcelain bottle made for the Master of the Xie Bamboos, whose hall name appears on other known porcelains of the first half of the nineteenth century, simulates a turquoise-matrix bottle with panels of calligraphy in iron-red on white. Not only is the color unambiguously green, it is as riddled with black matrix markings as any of the real material carved into bottles.


Expert’s note:
Whatever the color of the material may have meant, this example is intriguingly marked with some well-figured matrix, unusual speckling across both faces of the bottle, and intriguing darker staining, possibly partly due to handling but too well defined to stem purely from patination. This is one of the star turquoise bottles known, of lovely color and material. It is also superbly formed, with matching perfection of finish. Therefore, this bottle can be firmly dated to the 18th century.


Literature comparison:

For a related snuff bottle, see Michael Hughes, The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. Chinese Snuff Bottles, The International Snuff Bottle Society, Baltimore, 2009, page 190, pl. 151.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 25 May 2014, lot 1068
Price: HKD 237,500 or approx.
EUR 34,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A turquoise matrix snuff bottle, Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related color. Note the different form.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 26 March 2010, lot 1162
Price: USD 8,750 or approx.
EUR 11,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare turquoise snuff bottle, 1780-1850.
Expert remark: Compare the color. Note the different form and smaller size (5.5 cm).




十八世紀綠松石紋理鼻煙壺

鼻煙壺呈扁平狀，掏膛良好，圓柱體頸部，削肩，橢圓形圈足。寶石呈斑駁的綠松石色，局部帶有淡黃色調，兩側有深藍色紋理。


來源：
紐約著名鼻煙壺收藏。

品相：
狀況極好，有磨損和一些風化。石料上有天然裂紋，有些紋理隨著時間的推移可能會發展成細小裂縫。邊緣周圍有非常小的刻痕。

壺蓋：嵌藍寶石，可能來自同期
重量：83.9 克
尺寸：含壺蓋高68 毫米，頸部直徑19.5 毫米，壺口直徑6毫米


綠松石
通常情況下天藍色越鮮豔，石料的價值就越高。但在中國，綠色和藍色脈紋的材料顯然具有同等價值，比如綠松石紋理的鼻煙壺。在清代料器鼻煙壺的綠松石系列中，綠色色調多於天藍色。


專家注釋：
無論材料的顏色意味著什麼，這個拍品上都有一些有趣的紋理，瓶子兩面不尋常的斑點，以及有趣的深色色塊。這是眾所周知的綠松石瓶之一，造型精美，表面處理完美。 因此，這見鼻煙壺年代可以確定為18世紀。


文獻比較：

一件相近的鼻煙壺，見 Michael Hughes，《The Chester Beatty Library，Dublin. Chinese Snuff Bottles》，The International Snuff Bottle Society，巴爾的摩，2009年，頁190，圖151。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2014年5月25日，lot 1068
價格：HKD 237,500（相當於今日
EUR 34,500
）
描述：清十八 / 十九世紀綠松石鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較非常相近的顏色。請注意不同的外形。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2010年3月26日，lot 1162
價格：USD 8,750（相當於今日
EUR 11,500
）
描述： 1780-1850年綠松石鼻煙壺
專家評論：比較顏色。請注意不同的外形和尺寸較小(5.5 釐米)。