An Unusual Moss Agate Chalcedony Snuff Bottle with Carving
Among the variety of stones available in China, chalcedony that was the stone of choice for snuff bottle carvers before the 20th century. Moss agate is a type of chalcedony and the carver who made this snuff bottle had the experience to find a stone with interesting inclusions. He gave it a good round flattened form, with a slight taper towards the raised oval foot. The neck is in good proportion and the top is slightly concave. Then he began to carve a continuous landscape with overlapping mountains, craggy rocks, steps leading to a massive closed entry door, flowers and insects. He then inserted figures into the landscape, a scholar and his attendant standing on each side of the steps leading up to the door, to their left, situated behind the rocks is a woodsman carrying a bundle of firewood on his back. Continuing through the rocks stood a flowering plant, a leaf on a stem and a tall flower with two oversized insects, a butterfly and a dragonfly hovering overhead. A standing couple, man and women identified by their hairstyle stand traditional robes admire the overly large flower.
What makes this bottle special is the artistic carving. The snuff bottle carver planned his scene according to the dark dendritic inclusions. On one side he made use of the darker shades to emphasis the closed doors, and on the other side, the dark colors became the leaf and the flower. One could say the vignette is stylized, the flower, leaf and insects are larger than the human figures. Perhaps the commission dictated that the items mentioned must be included on the bottle, and thus the end result?
The bottle is well hollowed and could be a floater. It is matched with a cap that is an orange carnelian carved into a rosette on a turquoise disk.
Dating: turn of the 20th century 1900’s
Dimensions: 2 inches wide x ½ inch deep x 2 ¾ inches high