A CHALCEDONY ‘SCHOLAR IN A LANDSCAPE’ SNUFF BOTTLE, SUZHOU, SCHOOL OF ZHITING, 1750-1850 Chalcedony,

A CHALCEDONY ‘SCHOLAR IN A LANDSCAPE’ SNUFF BOTTLE, SUZHOU, SCHOOL OF ZHITING, 1750-1850 Chalcedony, of honey-to-milky-white color, with dark inclusions masterly used by the carver to create a dramatic scene. China, 1750-1850Suzhou, Zhiting School. The front depicting a scholar and his attendant below a pine tree emerging from serrated rockwork, a cottage on top of a ledge. The back with a poem neatly incised with 14 script characters and remainders of original gold filling.Inscription (translated): Turning my head back, I watch on the horizon the stream falling. On the cliffs unintentionally, clouds are chasing each other. (a verse from Tang dynasty poet Liu Zongyuan's poem Fisherman)Shape: Bulbous globular shapeHollowing: Excellent, the bottle floating in waterMouth, neck and lip: Short cylindric neck, the top convex, the mouth small with precisely executed cylinder insideBase: Oval, slightly convex Stopper: Dark chalcedonyHeight of the bottle with stopper: 6.5 cmWidth of the mouth: 6 mmWidth of the neck: 22 mmCondition: ExcellentProvenance: American private collectionLiterature comparison: Bob C. Stevens, The Collector’s Book of Snuff Bottles, lot 1004, chapter “Favorites among the favored” (page 280). (for a bottle with many similarities to this one, possibly even from the same master) BLOCH COLLECTION. Bonham's, November 23rd 2010, Hong Kong, lot 78. Snuff Bottles from the Mary & George Bloch Collection: Part IX. Sotheby's, November 24th 2014, HONG KONG, lot 7. (for two more bottles from this school, both also showing several remarkable similarities to this one) The National Palace Museum Taipei, The Art and Culture of Snuff Bottles, lot III-050. (for one more similar bottle from this group).Expertise: Alexander Zacke玉髓山水文人鼻煙壺，蘇州，芝亭流派, 1750-1850 年玉髓, 蜜至白色, 濃色處巧妙地用成圖案靈活如生的樣子, 中國, 1750-1850 年蘇州，芝亭派,前部描繪松樹下有文人跟童子出自山水，岩台上有草房。背面雕詩14個字，部分帶剩餘金備。形狀：扁圓形掏膛：完整，水上飄瓶口、頸、瓶唇： 短圓柱形頸， 上部凸出，小口內部巧妙地雕成底足：橢圓，稍微凸出蓋: 濃色玉髓高（帶蓋）：6.5厘米口徑：0.6厘米頸部直徑：2.2厘米狀態敘述：完善來源：美國私人舊藏文獻: Bob C. Stevens, The Collector’s Book of Snuff Bottles, 編號 1004, chapter “Favorites among the favored” (頁 280). BLOCH COLLECTION. Bonham's, 2010 年 11月23 日, Hong Kong, 編號 78. Snuff Bottles from the Mary & George Bloch Collection: Part IX. Sotheby's, 2014年11月24日, HONG KONG, 編號 7. The National Palace Museum Taipei, The Art and Culture of Snuff Bottles, 編號 III-050.