Tabatière en agate blanche et verte. Chine, 1760-1860

à décor de pins sur une face, l'autre polie. 7 cm, 2 3/4 in. Est. 8,000—12,000 EUR. Lot Sold 10,000 EUR

PROVENANCE: Galerie Bertrand de Lavergne

EXHIBITED: Tabatières Chinoises, Trésors des Collections Privées Françaises, Paris, 29 novembre – 17 décembre 2000, n°141

NOTE: This belongs to a small group of very similar bottles all made from the same distinctive material. The unique material and the style of carving employed in this group of bottles suggest carvings from a single workshop, and possibly even a single hand. The anonymous carver was a master of imaginative use of natural markings in stone, and a technically impressive carver.

A similar bottle from the Meriem collection was sold at Christie's New York, 19 September 2007, lot 703; and another sold in our Hong Kong Rooms, 5 May 1994, lot 1405.
See also close examples including one with red-eyed cranes in the collection of Mary and George Bloch, illustrated by Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Vol. 2, Quartz, no. 332; one illustrated by Moss, Graham, Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, no. 159 ; and another in the collection of the Marquess of Exeter, illustrated in Bob Stevens Bob C. Stevens, Les Tabatières Chinoises, Le Guide du Collectionneur, n°585.

Sotheby's. Asian Art11 Jun 09. Paris www.sothebys.com