A RARE ‘NANTIMITOLO’ AMETHYST SNUFF BOTTLE, MASTER OF THE ROCKS, QING DYNASTYTransparent amethyst of light purple color, streaked with white shades of crystal, carved and incised in high reliefChina, 18th – 19th century The seated figure is shown with his right hand raised above his head holding a pearl and a fierce dragon amid swirling clouds above him. These attributes identify him as Nantimitolo, known in Chinese as the 'Dragon Subduing Luohan', luohan being the Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word arhat.An arhat is a perfected being, a disciple of Buddha who has attained enlightenment, but chooses to remain engaged in the world, postponing nirvana, in order to aid all sentient beings. The arhat achieves enlightenment through instruction rather than through insight and meditation, and as a result, ranks just below the bodhisattva.In this figure of Nantimitolo, the expressive face with protruding chin, large eyes and prominent nose, so unlike Chinese physiognomy, points to his foreign origins. The facial expression on the present figure has parallels in iron figures dating from the Song dynasty such as in the guardian from Jinci Temple in Taiyuan, Shanxi illustrated in A. Paludan, Chinese Sculpture: A Great Tradition, Chicago, 2006, p. 388, fig. 258. The backside of the bottle carved with further clouds and an incised deer.Shape: Bulbous rectangular shapeHollowing: ExcellentMouth, neck and lip: Cylindric neck with convex top, slated lip and small mouthBase: Oval with raised foot rimDesign, marks, school: Master of the Rocks SchoolStopper: Tourmaline cabochon with old metal mounting and spoonHeight of the bottle with stopper: 8 cm.Width of the mouth: 7 mm.Width of the neck: 19 mm.Weight: 95.5 gramsCondition: Excellent condition with one tiny nibble to lip and some minuscule natural flawsProvenance: American private collectionAuction result comparison: SNUFF BOTTLES FROM THE MARY AND GEORGE BLOCH COLLECTION: PART VI. Sotheby’s, 27 MAY 2013, HONG KONG, lot 204. (for a Suzhou jade bottle with the same subject)罕見紫晶雕慶友尊者鼻烟壺，石類派大師, 清代透明紫晶顔色亮麗，可見白色肌理紋，深浮雕中國， 十八至十九世紀壺型：長球形掏膛：極好壺口、頸與唇部：直頸，凸頂，板岩唇，小口 底足：橢圓形圈足造型、落款及流派：傑出石類派壺蓋：老金屬包電氣石戒面，小杓 壺高（含壺蓋）：8 厘米口徑：7 毫米壺頸寬：19 毫米重量：95.5 克品相：極好，僅在唇部有一処細微磕損，一些自然缺陷來源：美國私人收藏