Lot 514. An unusual carved agate snuffbottle, Suzhou school, 1760-1880. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The bottle is finely carved through the brownish-black and off-white inclusions on one side with a scholar holding a fan and his attendant seated on a rocky outcrop surrounded by pine branches and clouds, and on the other with a fisherman standing in the swirling shallows of a river catching a carp, his basket in clouds beside him. 2 3/8 in. (6.2 cm.) high, shell stopper.

Provenance: Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong, 2008. 
The Meriem Collection; Christie's New York, 19 March 2008, lot 247.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 4846.

Notes: The handling of the striped, beautifully textured material of this bottle, as well as the different tones of color on varying planes and the sculptural quality of the carving, are traditionally associated with the Suzhou school. However, the flattened form and degree of hollowing exhibited are a departure from Suzhou bottles, which tend to have more rounded bodies. While the complex carving and extensive use of the natural colors in the stone resemble the Zhiting School, the style is not typical, suggesting perhaps an attribution to another Suzhou school. This flattened form appears in snuff bottles in a wide variety of materials during the mid-Qing period, both imperial and otherwise, and was one of a number of popular standards. 

Christie's. The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles: Part III, 14 September 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza