A RARE 'HUNDRED SHOU-CHARACTER' BAMBOO VENEER SNUFF BOTTLE, ZHUHUANGChina, 1750-1800. Of rounded spade shape, with plain narrow sides tapering towards the flat foot, the slightly flared neck of rectangular section, each main face neatly carved with 50 shou characters. The matching bamboo stopper with veneer surmounted by a ball shaped finial. The bamboo with a naturally grown, golden-brown patina overall.Provenance: Robert C. Eldred Co., 10 December 2004, lot 495. A private collection in the United States, acquired from the above. Eldred’s is the oldest continuously operating auction house in New England, founded in 1947 by Robert C. Eldred, Sr. In 1978, his son Robert C. Eldred, Jr. became President of thepany, leading it for over three decades until his retirement in 2014.Condition: Excellent condition with expected old wear and minor traces of use.Stopper: Bamboo, bone spoonWeight: 14.6 gDimensions: Height including stopper 65 mm. Length neck 13 mm and mouth 6 mmThis bottle belongs to a group of bamboo bottles of distinctive type, apparently developed in the Beijing Palace workshops during the late 18th century.Bamboo veneer, or zhuhuang, was a technique developed in Jiangxi province in the mid-Qianlong period and taken up by the Palace Workshops thereafter remaining popular at the Court well into the 19th century. It required tremendous skill, using the inner layer from the cortex of the bamboo, which was resistant to insects, to create the veneer. This was then decoratively applied to a base form, usually also made of bamboo, and subsequently carved.The subject of the present bottle, the 100 shou longevity characters, is appropriately matched with the bamboo medium as the grass is known for its long life. A bamboo veneer bottle such as this would have been appropriate for a scholar-official in the court, because bamboo is also representative of the attributes of a gentleman, being strong, yet flexible, and evergreen (symbolizing constancy).Literatureparison:A bottle of the identical design is in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing and illustrated in Masterpieces of Snuff Bottles in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1995, fig. 186, p. 181. Another identical bottle, from the collection of Denis Low, is illustrated in Robert Kleiner, Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Hong Kong, fig. 207, 1999, p. 242. This spade-shaped example probably bears the closestparison to two moon-flask bottles illustrated in Snuff Bottles in the Collection of The National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1992, Catalogue, nos. 414 and 415, p. 271.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Sotheby’s New York, 14 September 2010, lot 96Price: USD 46,875 or approx.EUR 60,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A rare bamboo veneer 'hundred shou character' snuff bottleExpert remark:pare the cl