31.6.562 Turquoise Shagreen Turquoise matrix, of greenish-blue colour densely grained with black matrix; of well hollowed, flattened ovoid form with a waisted neck and flat, oval foot 1760-1880 Height: 5.54 cm Mouth/lip: .64/1.34 cm Stopper: glass, carved with a coiled chi dragon; gilt-silver collar Provenance: From a tomb in the Beijing area (by repute) Unidentified dealer, Beijing Johnny Tseng, California, March 2006 A great many bottles have come out of tombs around Beijing in the past decades, as the city is constantly expanded and now that a massive building programme has started for the 2008 Olympics, more tombs are being uncovered.  They contain a great many glass bottles, but also, of course, other types.  It is just that the glass bottles show more obvious signs of burial as they iridesce in contact with the damp soil for so long.   This unusual piece of material resembles shagreen with its unusually fine pattern of stone in matrix.  It is also unusually well hollowed for a turquoise snuff bottle.  A delicate material, it was often not well hollowed.