A LAPIS LAZULI SNUFF BOTTLE, QING DYNASTY Carved Lapis lazuli with a good patina and smooth polish. China, 18th – 19th centuryOf bulbous oval form, resting on a shape-matching oval base, the cylindric neck rising to a flat top, the stone of a dark blue tone with a few lighter clouds, suffused with metallic-silver specks. The blue in this bottle is unusually intense and among the most gem-like colors known for this mineral. It appears to belong to a large group of plain bottles which may have been made for the Court during the mid-Qing period. Although common in white nephrite, jadeite and crystal, both colorless and brown, occasionally they are found in other materials as well, such as coral and, as in the present bottle, lapis lazuli. Shape: Bulbous ovalHollowing: ExcellentMouth, neck and lip: Cylindric neck with flat top and small mouthBase: Oval with raised, flat foot rimStopper: Glass in imitation of coral, carved in the shape of a blossom, resting on a green, slanted plateletHeight of the bottle with stopper: 7.1 cm.Width of the mouth: 6 mm.Width of the neck: 17 mm.Condition: ExcellentProvenance: American private collectionLiterature comparison: Snuff Bottles from the Mary & George Bloch Collection: Part IX. Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, November 24th, 2014, lot 192. SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE MARY & GEORGE BLOCH COLLECTION: PART VII. Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, November 26th, 2013, lot 45. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. Sotheby’s, New York, March 23rd, 2011, lot 771. (all for related, plain lapis lazuli bottles)清代青金石鼻烟壺品相極好美國私人收藏