The double gourd form is a favorite among the Chinese on account of its symbolism. It is often associated with wish granting and magic. The Daoist Immortal Zhang Guolao is often featured with a double gourd riding on a white donkey. Anytime he needed his ride, all he had to do was to shake his gourd and his donkey would appear. This twin double gourd snuff bottle here shows it probably has twice the power.
The bottle is cloisonne on copper. The application of this technique is expertly done. The background color is imperial yellow on which paintings of red crested cranes appear on the cartouches on the upper and lower sections of the gourd. A different pose of the bird is featured on all eight of the cartouches. One image is the crane in flight, or standing, or feeding. The application of the wires is so skillful that the images appear to be hand painted. and not executed by bending tiny copper wires and filling in the spaces with powdered color glass.
The fine technique exhibited in this snuff bottle indicates that this was the continuation of the fine craftsmanship of the artisans who made fine snuff bottles during the late Qing Dynasty. The dating for this piece is early 20th century, circa 1920's.
The bottle is 2 inches wide and 2.25 inches high.
It is in excellent condition. Please note that the covers are not original. The material is bowenite dyed to resemble turquoise and they do compliment the yellow cloisonne bottle.