A CHALCEDONY ‘LIU HAI’ OFFICIAL SCHOOL SNUFF BOTTLE, QING DYNASTYChalcedony of light caramel tone with several dark inclusions, which were used to enhance the design, carved in high relief and incised with fine details, good surface polishChina, 1750-1850The subject here is Liu Hai, a patron saint of commerce. His three-legged toad sits on a rocky bank and is enticed by Liu’s string of cash. It is one of the finest examples of this subject that this author has ever seen, and it was a fairly popular one with the Official School. A flying bat is completing the scene.Shape: Bulbous round formHollowing: Superb, with the interior profile precisely following the exterior shapeMouth, neck and lip: Short, broad and cylindric neck with curved top and very small mouth, slanted lipBase: Flat oval baseDesign, marks, school: Official schoolStopper: Banded agate on black platelet with good old spoonHeight of the bottle with stopper: 6.9 cm.Width of the mouth: 6 mm.Width of the neck: 21 mm.Weight: 71.9 gramsCondition: Perfect conditionProvenance: Canadian private collectionAuction result comparison: CHINESE ART. Sotheby's, 3 DECEMBER 2015 - 04 DECEMBER 2015, HONG KONG, lot 655. (for a related bottle with the same subject)官家工坊玉髓巧雕劉海鼻烟壺，清代淺焦糖色，局部深色部位巧雕人物形象，深浮雕，細節入微，表面光滑中國，1750-1850壺型：圓球形掏膛：不同凡響，隨壺身形狀成形壺口、頸與唇部：短寬頸，壺口彎曲，口極小，撇唇底足：扁橢圓形造型、落款及流派：官方工坊壺蓋：帶狀瑪瑙，黑色托片，老杓保存良好壺高（含壺蓋）： 6.9 厘米口徑：6 毫米壺頸寬：21 毫米重量：71.9 克品相：完美來源：加拿大私人收藏