A CARVED TURQUOISE SNUFF BOTTLE Early 20th centuryA CARVED TURQUOISE SNUFF BOTTLEEarly 20th centuryOf compressed, baluster form standing on a well-polished oval footrim, its full shoulders rising to a cylindrical neck, with a flat lip, carved in low relief on each side with a pleasing scene, depicting two birds darting towards a blossoming prunus and graceful bamboo emerging behind rocks.1 7/8in (4.7cm) high二十世紀初 藍松石刻飛鳥竹梅圖鼻煙壺一件Provenance:Joan and Ted Dorf Collection, no. 290The Chinese referred to turquoise as lusongshi or 'green pine stone' suggesting that its color was nearer to green than blue, however, unless years of patination have turned the material into a more greenish hue, the majority of turquoise bottles are this color, sometimes with a black veined matrix.