An agate snuff bottle

1800 – 1880
Height: 5.3 cm.

Agate with shades of red, yellow and white, carved in the form of a melon with leaves and a butterfly, the foot formed from one of the tendrils.

Melons associated with butterflies form the rebus for the blessing of many descendants. See Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meaning in Chinese Art (San Francisco: 2006), no. 1.3.

Provenance 起源: Linda F. Crawley

Published 发布: Asiantiques, A Fascination for Miniatures: The Linda F. Crawley Collection of Chinese Snuff (2008), cat. no. 21

Ref. 815649

SOLD