1780–1850

Translucent amber, of rounded rectangular form with a broad cylindrical neck and recessed foot, carved on one side with a deer holding a branch of lingzhi in his mouth and a crane beneath a pine tree, the reverse with three goats and lingzhi beneath another pine tree.

Three goats are often depicted in Chinese art to symbolize "prosperity in the springtime." See Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meaning in Chinese Art (San Francisco: 2006), no. 10.9.1. The deer holding a branch of lingzhi, the crane, pine tree and further lingzhi are all symbols of longevity. An amber bottle of the exact same form and size, similarly carved with a pine tree on the right side and wrapping the bottle, but with a different subject beneath, is illustrated in Humphrey K. F. Hui, Margaret Polak and Christopher C. H. Sin, Hidden Treasures of the Dragon: An Exhibition of Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collections of Humphrey K. F. Hui, Margaret Polak and Christopher C. H. Sin at the Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, December 19, 1991–January 27, 1992, cat. no. 37. The two bottles are so similar that it is likely they were carved by the same hand and around the same time.

H: 6.7 cm

Provenance 起源:
Linda F. Crawley
Robert Hall

Published 发布: Asiantiques, A Fascination for Miniatures: The Linda F. Crawley Collection of Chinese Snuff (2008), cat. no. 108

Ref. 108-L0616

Price on request