A MINIATURE ROOT AMBER 'PEBBLE' SNUFF BOTTLENatural root amber pebble of opaque, dark-brown color, with bright shades of ochre, and a good surface polish. China, 19th centuryThe opaque material left plain on a flat foot, the sides slightly flattened to approximate a triangular section while retaining the curved 'pebble' shape. Pebble-forms in amber are relatively rare and compare well with those in jade. As Schuyler Cammann notes in Miniature Art from Old China, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Montclair Art Museum, p.48, "Chinese aesthetes in Old Beijing would ride their rickshaws, holding in one hand a piece of amber and in the other a piece of jade, obviously enjoying the contrasting tactile sensations".Shape: Natural pebbleHollowing: ExcellentMouth, neck and lip: Flattened lip and cylindric mouthBase: Flat oval, bottle does standStopper: Pink tourmaline cabochonHeight of the bottle with stopper: 4.2 cm.Width of the mouth: 5 mm.Condition: Excellent, with some natural abrasionProvenance: UK private collectionLiterature comparison: SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE MARY AND GEORGE BLOCH COLLECTION, Part I. Bonhams, Hong Kong, May 28th, 2010, lot 136. (for an inscribed amber pebble bottle; note the interesting commentary-section of the catalogue entry, lively describing how plain amber pebble bottles such as the present one may later have been embellished with poem inscriptions in the popular literati circles of the nineteenth century) 清代袖珍琥珀鼻烟壺品相極好, 自然磨損英國私人收藏