Description
Description: A rare Chinese snuff bottle shaped as a seated rabbit, carved in flawless white nephrite jade. The fascination of this bottle resides on the purity of the shape and the quality of the jade. It is in fact barely decorated, extremely well-smoothed in even the more recessed points, accurately hollowed. Because in ancient China the moon was represented by a white disk with a rabbit inside, we believe that this rabbit was purposely left barely carved with the scope of not distracting the observer, who thanks to the immaculate white jade should be pushed to imagine its connection to the moon.
Foot/base:
Mark:
Dating: 18th Century, probably Imperial workshop.
Material: Pure white nephrite jade
Size: 53 mm high
Stopper: Red coral stopper and bone spoon.
Provenance: Ex Sergia Iessi collection. About this collector, see Provenance of the hornbill bottle O35.
References: We have found three hare or rabbit snuff bottles, but all them are crouched, not seated as is our one, see the last three pictures. The Catalogue Notes of the first one says that animal shaped snuff bottles are known as being well appreciated during mid-Qing and probably Imperial (some of them, we think).
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