S 85 A banded agate “floating light” snuff bottle

Description

Description:  Chinese agate snuff bottle of small size and slim rounded-cylindrical form. This bottle is one of the very top bottles in our collection. It surpasses our bottle S82, which is already an exceptionally high-grade bottle for the quality of the stone, the shaping, and the superb hollowing. It is enough to say that despite being it 18% taller than the bottle S82, it weights exactly the same, 23 grams. When handled, it gives the same feeling of being handling a glass ball for the Christmas tree, or an incandescent bulb lamp. The thickness of the wall can’t be appreciated by seeing it in counter light. Nice color and bands, superb finish of the foot and mouth. In water, the bottle float with about half of the body out the water surface, something never seen on any type of snuff bottles, regardless the size. All the above is saying that this bottle must be Palace workshop product, if not expressly made for the emperor, knowing Qianlong’s appreciation for small bottles.  The last picture is showing the bottle with inner lighting.

Foot/base:  Flat base with protruding narrow foot.

Mark:

Dating:  18^th Century, Imperial workshops.

Material:  Banded agate

Size:  58.2 mm high

Stopper:  Red agate stopper with green glass collar and bone spoon.

Provenance:  Antiquarian market.

References:

Notes:  The “Floating light” name is because of the impressive floating capability of the bottle and for it recalling a light bulb.