Property from a distinguished Asian private collection (Lots 368-396)






A rare Mughal-style white and russet jade snuff bottle


18th/19th centuryThe spade-shaped bottle with broad shoulders and a straight neck, the body delicately carved with large flowering lotus blooms borne on a gracefully undulating stem issuing curling tendrils and acanthus leaves, the stone with a greenish-white matrix marked with rich russet inclusions. 5cm (2in) high.
|ProvenanceA distinguished Asian private collectionThe intricate and delicate style of carving seen on the present lot is derived from a group of jade carvings that were known to the Qianlong emperor as 'Hindustan' or 'Mughal' jades. The Qianlong emperor admired this exotic style of carving for its softness of finish and thinness of the jade, whereupon this style was copied in the Imperial workshops.A related white jade 'Hindustan lotus' snuff bottle, circa 1750-1820, is illustrated by H.Moss, V.Graham and K.B.Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection: Volume 1, Jade, Hong Kong, 1995, pp.280-281, no.114, and later sold in our Hong Kong Rooms, 27 May 2012, lot 74.