Lot 82

Lot 82
Treasury 1, no. 178

A jadeite snuff bottle

(‘Bob Hall’s Emerald Haze Jadeite’)

Jadeite; well hollowed, with a recessed, elongated foot
1770–1860
Height: 6.11 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.54/1.52 cm
Stopper: coral; gilt-bronze collar

Lot 82 Provenance:
Robert Hall (1987)

Published:
Hall 1987, no. 55
Kleiner, Yang, and Shangraw 1994, no. 57
Treasury 1, no. 178

Exhibited:
Robert Hall Gallery, London, October 1987
Hong Kong Museum of Art, March–June 1994
National Museum, Singapore, November 1994–February 1995
University of Hong Kong University Museum and Art Gallery, 1999

Lot 82 Commentary
There is a group of jadeite bottles of a distinctive range of colours that often have green flecking in a paler, sometimes almost white material and that fit formally into a large group of known bottles in other materials. This represents the most popular form for the group, with its rounded rectangular shape, although sometimes they are rather more bulging than this example and usually larger. An alternative form in this material is similar, but tapers toward the shoulders. For nephrite bottles of this broad formal group, see Treasury 1, nos. 154 and 162, and, for another jadeite example, no. 184. Others are published in Perry 1960, no. 81 (green jadeite); Stevens 1976, no. 361 (in yellow nephrite), no. 432 (in green jadeite with black inclusions), no. 436 (green and white jadeite), and nos. 457 and 458 (one in green and white and one in green jadeite, each with the foot lacking because of the careless trimming of illustrations for this publication); Hamilton 1977, nos. J.37-J.40 (four in green and white jadeite). When the emerald-green colour is found as streaks or splashes in a white ground, it is sometimes referred to as ‘pine needles in snow’.

The existence of so many of this formal group in jadeite is a clue to its dating in general. The jadeite cannot have been available in bulk much before the last few decades of the eighteenth century, and the evidence of Ji Yun suggests that even if the stone was available, it would not have been used in quantity before that time, since it was not considered to be real jade or of much value (see Moss, Graham, and Tsang 1993, p. 122). We cannot be certain from this evidence that some of the group were not made before, say, 1770, but at least we know that the form continued to be popular thereafter.

Two decorated examples that can be attributed to the group by form and material offer some hint as to how long the shape continued to be popular (see Stevens 1976, nos. 453 and 455). Both are distinctly nineteenth century in style, and probably date from the Daoguang period or even a little later. It is likely that the shape was popular between the mid-Qianlong period and perhaps a century or more later, when it was adopted as the standard form for inside-painted bottles for practical reasons (offering, as it did, two flat surfaces equating to flat paper surfaces). This would seem to endorse the belief that the very narrow mouth, a standard feature on this group, became popular by the later Qianlong period and probably continued to be popular well into the nineteenth century.

In this example tiny flecks of intense colour are contained in a paler matrix, and the resulting textured colour is fairly evenly spread all over the material, giving it an unusually vibrant colour on both main sides. It is not so evenly spread, however, that there is no variation, and the overall appearance is of gradually increasing intensity towards the neck. This creates a fascinating colour dimension to the form, making it a principal language of appeal in the overall work of art and, because of its positioning, allows a major role to be played by the stopper. The coral, set in its gilt-bronze mount, becomes the focal point for this language of colour, seeming to draw the eye upwards from the form of the bottle to rest on the stopper. The overall sculptural effect is radically altered with the stopper removed. This would be another bottle where alternative stoppers would offer intriguingly different possibilities to the overall work of art, making their selection a delightful game.