A CARVED ‘DEPARTING FOR THE MARKET’ IVORY SNUFF BOTTLEIvory, carved and incised in high and deep relief, with remainders of old polychrome painting, good patina. Japan, ca. 1850-1920Carved in high relief with a circumferential depiction of two boys passing through a gate with their fully laden mules, one of them additionally carrying two baskets suspended on a vertical rod. In the background we find intricately carved rockwork and a pine tree surrounded by clouds. Foot rim, shoulders and neck show various neatly incised borders.This bottle fits into a broader group of mostly larger snuff bottles with considerable depth of carving that generally leaves some elements of the design free standing and most in prominent relief. The carving is usually a virtuoso performance of busy scenes with human figures at various pursuits in settings with quite a bit of architectural detail. Most of the bottles are accompanied by matching stoppers, most of which are probably the original ones. It may be that at least some of them were made in the south of China, at Guangzhou, Shanghai, or elsewhere, during the second half of the Qing dynasty for the collectors’ market. However, closer study of stylistic features suggests that the vast majority were made in Japan between 1854 and about 1920.There is one clue that this particular bottle is Japanese, which is the separate neck, fitted to the body after the hollowing had been achieved through an ample hole in the top. Construction in sections was a standard Japanese method, greatly facilitating the hollowing process. Shape: Bulbous cylindric shapeHollowing: StandardMouth, neck and lip: Sprawling neck, flat topBase: Oval base with elevated flat foot rimStopper: Matching ivory stopper carved in the classic Beijing shapeHeight of the bottle with stopper: 7.8 cm.Width of the mouth: 7 mm.Width of the neck: 20 mm.Condition: Good condition, with some wear, the base with a few scratches, on nick at the inner lipProvenance: UK private collectionLiterature comparison: Chinese Art. Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, December 2nd, 2016, lot 881. (for another Japanese ivory bottle) Bob C. Stevens, The Collectors Book of Snuff Bottles, Weatherhill, New York, 1980, lots 762 -798. (for a comprehensive overview of ivory snuff bottles of all sorts and periods)1850-1920年間日本象牙雕“二里溝”鼻烟壺品相良好，稍有磨損，底部有劃痕，内唇処有缺口英國私人收藏