Property from the Estate of Gardner Hart Pierson. A molded porcelain snuff bottle. Qianlong mark, 1850-1920. With a wide neck and flat mouth rim raised on a narrow oblong foot rim, deftly molded with fu-lions cavorting with ribbon-tied balls under a cloud collar at the neck, the scene picked out in bright pink, green, turquoise and orange enamels. 2 5/8in (6.8cm) high. Estimate: US$1,000 - 1,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- With the Chinese economy still keeping its art market as red-hot as ever, all eyes are on Bonhams & Butterfields' Asian Decorative Art sale in San Francisco on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 10 a.m. With fresh material and conservative estimates, sharp-eyed collectors should be competing to find fantastic bargains among the many blockbusters in store.

Traditionally popular categories are well represented in this auction. Notable amongst the Chinese porcelain to be offered is a blue and white glazed rouleau vase with figural decoration, 19th century (est. $1,500-2,500). A plethora of high-quality jades and hardstone carvings are also on offer, from dazzling jadeites such as a monkey and peach group (est. $2,500-4,000) to more understated examples, such as an 18th century greenish-white jade belt buckle (est. $1,800-2,400).

A blue and white porcelain rouleau vase, 19th century. Potted with a cupped rim and cylindrical neck encircled by a raised ridge separating delicately drawn linear patterns, the elongated body displaying a continuous imperial audience scene set within a palace garden. 17 3/4in (45cm) high. Estimate: US$1,500 - 2,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

A mottled green jadeite monkeys and peach branch group, 20th century. The reticulated boulder displaying one oversize peach amid smaller fruiting branches that support a family of monkeys; the pale green matrix marked with darker leaf green veins and icy white inclusions and some of its golden brown skin utilized in carving the leaves and tendrils; now attached to a wood stand; 6in (15cm) height of jadeite; 7 1/4in (18.5cm) height including stand. Estimate: US$2,500 - 4,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

A pale greenish-white jade two-section belt buckle. 18th century. Each section with a cusped edge and fronted with a coiled dragon in raised relief, the translucent matrix displaying some icy white inclusions (repairs, chips); 5in (12.5cm) long. Estimate: US$1,800 - 2,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Cementing Bonhams' worldwide reputation as the go-to destination for renowned snuff bottle collections and collectors, the company is continuing the success of Steven Stiller sales with a pale greenish white jade snuff bottle (est. $800-1,200), a molded porcelain snuff bottle, Qianlong mark, 1850-1920 (est. $1,000-1,500) and a silvered metal snuff bottle, 1820-1900 (est. $500-700). The sale will also highlight the Riddell Hoffman Collection with a clear red glass snuff bottle, Qianlong mark (est. $1,000-1,500) and a red overlay snuff bottle, 1820-1900 (est. $600-800).

Property from the Norman Stiller Collection, San Francisco, California  A pale greenish white jade snuff bottle. 1800-1900. Well hollowed, of compressed ovoid form, with flat lip and small concave oval foot, the stone with patches of pale russet on each face; 2 1/4in (5.5cm) high. Estimate: US$800 - 1,200. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Property from the Norman Stiller Collection, San Francisco, California. A silvered metal snuff bottle, 1820-1900. Of Central Asian water flask shape, fashioned in two halves with a circular beaded lip and flat oval base, worked in high relief with an offering bowl filled with jewels and precious symbols reserved on a ground of scrolling foliate tendrils; 2 1/4in (5.3cm) high. Estimate: US$500 - 700. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Property from the Collection of Linda Riddell Hoffman. A clear red glass snuff bottle. Qianlong yuzhi mark. Of compressed globular shape with concave lip and a flat foot enclosed in a splayed oval foot rim, carved to one side with a twenty-eight character inscription in clerical script, reversed by two Qianlong-style seals, set off by paired handles of crouching frogs on a bed of cloud scrolls; 2 3/8in (6.1 cm) high. Estimate: US$1,000 - 1,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Property from the Collection of Linda Riddell Hoffman. A red overlay snuff bottle, 1820-1900. Of compressed ovoid shape with flat lip, the convex foot enclosed in a broad protruding foot rim, the red glass overlay carved to the snowflake ground with the twelve animals of the zodiac; 2 3/8in (6.1cm) high. Estimate: US$600 - 800. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

There will be new offerings from the Gardner Hart Pierson estate, including a jade purse-form snuff bottle, 1820-1900 (est. $1,500-2,500) a white jade snuff bottle, 1850-1920 (est. $1,000-1,500), a large gray jade snuff bottle, late 19th/20th century (est. $1,500-2,500), a white jade snuff bottle with prunus (est. $2,000-3,000), a banded agate snuff bottle (est. $1,500-2,500); and a shadow agate snuff bottle (est. $2,000-3,000). Snuff bottle buyers can expect to find a panoply of affordable, yet exceptional lots in a dazzling variety of media and colors.

Property from the Estate of Gardner Hart Pierson. A jade purse-form snuff bottle, 1820-1900. Taking the shape of a traditional Chinese hebao the stone with white and russet coloration, with a flat rectangular mouth rim, the neck and shoulders incised with lines imitating the folded fabric, the neck with four holes and threaded with silk, the inside well-hollowed; 1 7/8in (4.8cm) high. Estimate: US$1,500 - 2,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Property from the Estate of Gardner Hart Pierson. A large gray jade snuff bottle. Late 19th/20th century. Of flattened rectangular form, with a flat, wide mouth rim, and an oval foot rim surrounding a slightly recessed base, the inside well-hollowed, the stone with gray and white coloration, each side carved in low relief with two dragons contesting a flaming pearl amid waves and clouds; 2 3/4in (7cm) high. Estimate: US$1,500 - 2,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Property from the Estate of Gardner Hart Pierson. A white jade snuff bottle with prunus. Of a compressed rectangular form, with a wide, flat mouth, and an oval foot rim surrounding a slightly recessed base, the bottle very well-hollowed, carved in low relief with a 'Three Friends of Winter' theme, with bamboo on one side, prunus and pine on the verso; 2 1/2in (6.5cm) high. Estimate: US$2,000 - 3,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Property from the Estate of Gardner Hart Pierson. A banded agate snuff bottle. Of a compressed ovoid form, with a flat mouth rim and wide mouth, a flat oval base, the interior very well-hollowed, the body suffused with concentric white and brown markings suggesting a thumbprint formation; 2in (5.1cm) high. Estimate: US$1,500 - 2,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Property from the Estate of Gardner Hart Pierson. A shadow agate snuff bottle. Of compressed globular form, with a slightly concave mouth rim, a wide mouth, and a recessed oval base, the interior very well-hollowed, the front carved with a figure on a rock, highlighting the speckled brown inclusions, the verso with a carved bird; 2in (5.1cm) high. Estimate: US$2,000 - 3,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Chinese art collectors with literati taste can browse a diverse array of scholars’ objects. Of particular interest is a 19th century bamboo brush pot bearing the signature of the artisan Hou Tang, with a fascinating incised tableau of the mirthful 'He He Twins,' two Tang dynasty poets and lifelong companions later deified as the immortals of harmony and unity, 19th century (est. $1,500-2,500). Despite recent headlines about record prices in the Chinese painting market, many Chinese paintings remain accessible to the average collector. Notably, a beautiful work after Fei Danxu (1801-1850) 'Beauties Gathering Water Chestnuts' on hanging scroll, with ink and color on silk will be available at an estimate of $1,800-2,000.

A bamboo brush pot, 19th century. Of hollow cylindrical form, one side carved in relief with the Hehe twins navigating a river in a cloudy night, the reverse inscribed with a four-line five-character ode to the deep but sober nature of their eternal love, bearing the signature the Qing dynasty artisan Hou Tang; 5 3/4in (14.5cm) high. Estimate: US$1,500 - 2,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

Japanese, South and Southeast Asian, and Korean Art are also well represented in the sale. Inspiring the collector to embody the Vajrayana Buddhist ideal of wisdom tempered with 'expedient means' are several colorful Thangkas, including one portraying the Gelug school patriarch Tsongkapa (est. $1,000-1,5000), as well as the benevolent and awe-inspiring deity Ushnishivijaya (est. $1,200-1,500). Of similar thematic material, fine Japanese Buddhist art is also available. The sale culminates with a fine painting by the Filipino artist Fernando Amorsolo Y Cueto of a Filipina in native garb in adoration of a Crucifix (est. $4,000-6,000); perhaps providing a lucky buyer a spiritual moment of introspection after what should be an exciting day.

A thangka of Tsong Khapa. Tibet, 20th century. Gilt and colored pigment on fabric, brocade mounting; the Geluk patriarch displaying the teaching gesture while seated in meditation on a lotus pedestal supported on cloud scrolls below a jeweled canopy and attended by apsaras on descending clouds, the lower section with an offering table flanked by a monk offering a white sash and a figure of Yamaraja on a mahey buffalo; 17 3/4 x 13 1/4in (45 x 33.5cm). Estimate: US$1,000 - 1,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

A thangka of Ushinishavijaya, 19th/20th century. Gilt and colored pigment on fabric, brocade mounting; the three-headed goddess of long life seated in bodhisattva raiment on a lotus pedestal, the primary hands holding a vishvavajra and kalasha, the other six fanning out to either side and displaying a bow, arrow and small figure of Amitabha Buddha, the lower section depicting two bodhisattva and four dharmapala; the reverse with a pair of hand prints, the names of the deities and two lines of text written in Tibetan script; 18 1/4 x 12 1/2in (46 x 31.5cm). Estimate: US$1,000 - 1,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields

The company’s Asian Decorative Art sale illustrated auction catalog will be available online for review and purchase in the weeks preceding the sale at bonhams.com