A CAMEO AGATE ‘NOBLE PROFESSIONS’ SNUFF BOTTLE, ZHITING SCHOOL, SUZHOU, CHINA, 1760-1850
Well hollowed, the ovoid body supported on a flat foot rising to a tall neck with a flat lip. Superbly carved, cleverly utilizing the darker brown markings in the stone, to one side with a farmer sitting with his goat under a pine tree and to the other with a scholar and his boy attendant by a pond with two ducks, all amid neatly detailed serrated rockwork, a hallmark of the Suzhou school. The shoulders carved with beast mask handles suspending mock rings.


Provenance
: The VWS Collection, acquired by the previous owner’s father (1890-1977) in China during the 1930s and thence by descent within the family. The VWS collection tells the extraordinary story of a family fleeing the Tsarist Empire in Russia. Their journey began in 1903 as the Chinese Eastern Railway, the eastern branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway, was completed. Fleeing, like others, a climate of political persecution and anti-Semitism, the family settled in Harbin, the northernmost city in China and started to develop its businesses from 1906 onwards. Like many others, they were attracted to this cosmopolitan place, then a major economic and cultural center in Manchuria, because of its large Jewish community. In Harbin, the father, a cultured, open-minded and multilingual man, felt at home and his early successes in business earned him respect. By 1932, he and his family were forced to flee again, following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and found a new home in Shanghai. From there, his businesses took him to Hong Kong, North America, and other Asian countries, where the family would remain for many years. They began collecting art in China during the 1930s and these artworks have remained with the family heirs ever since.

Condition
: Very good condition with only minor wear and few tiny nicks.

Stopper: Apple and emerald-green jadeite stopper
Weight: 64.7 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 74 mm. Diameter neck 11 mm and mouth 7 mm


Expert’s note:
The present lot belongs to a group of masterfully carved and rare Suzhou snuff bottles depicting the popular subject of the ‘Four Noble Professions’: scholar, farmer, woodcutter, and fisherman. The present bottle depicts two of these professions, namely the scholar and the farmer.


Auction comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2013, lot 1092
Price: USD 37,500 or approx.
EUR 44,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A finely carved cameo agate snuff bottle, Zhiting School, Suzhou, 1760-1850
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, also depicting the Four Noble Professions, color with similar dark inclusions, and manner of carving with similar serrated rockwork. Note the size (4.8 cm).


Auction comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 Sep 2005, lot 442
Price: USD 33,600 or approx.
EUR 47,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A fine and unusual cameo agate snuff bottle, school of Zhiting, Suzhou, 1750-1850
Expert remark: Compare the related form, manner of carving, and color with similar dark inclusions. Note the size (5.4 cm).




1760-1850年蘇作芝亭派瑪瑙人物鼻煙壺

掏膛良好，圓柱頸，壺身修長，扁平足。雕刻精美，巧妙地利用了瑪瑙深棕色紋理雕刻了人物場景。一面農民和他的山羊坐在松樹下，另一面是一位學者和他的侍者在池塘邊，兩隻鴨子在池中戲耍。周邊樹木岩石，場景如開光一般，是蘇州畫派的一大特色。雙肩各有一個獸面啣環輔首。


來源：
VWS 收藏，前主人的父親 (1890-1977)於上世紀三十年代在中國購得，保存在同一家族至今。VWS收藏講述了一個家庭逃離沙皇俄羅斯帝國的非凡故事。他們的旅程始於 1903 年，當時西伯利亞大鐵路東部支線中東鐵路竣工。和其他人一樣，為了逃離政治迫害和反猶太主義的環境，全家定居在中國最北端的城市哈爾濱，並從 1906 年開始發展業務。像許多其他人一樣，他們被這個國際化的城市吸引，因為這裡有龐大的猶太社區，當時這裡是滿洲的主要經濟和文化中心。在哈爾濱，父親是一個有教養、思想開放、會說多種語言的人，他早年在商業上的成功為他贏得了尊重。1932 年，日本入侵滿洲後，他和家人再次被迫逃離，並在上海找到了新家。從那裡開始，他的生意將他帶到了香港、北美和其他亞洲國家，他的家人在那裡待了很多年。他們於 1930 年代開始在中國收藏藝術品，這些藝術品自此一直由家族繼承人保管。

品相：
狀況極好，只有輕微磨損和一些小劃痕。

壺蓋: 翡翠
重量：64.7 克
尺寸：含蓋高 74 毫米，頸部直徑11毫米，壺口 7 毫米


拍賣比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2013年3月21日，lot 1092
價錢：USD 37,500（相當今日
EUR 44,500
）
描述：1760-1850年蘇作瑪瑙巧雕漁樵耕讀鼻煙壺
專家註釋：比較非常相近的漁樵耕讀主題、相似的顏色和黑斑，雕刻風格有相似的岩石雕刻。請注意尺寸 (4.8 厘米)。


拍賣比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2005年9月20日，lot 442
價錢：USD 33,600（相當今日
EUR 47,500
）
描述：1750-1850年蘇作芝亭派浮雕瑪瑙鼻煙壺
專家註釋：比較相近的外形，雕刻風格，以及相似的顏色和黑斑。請注意尺寸 (5.4 厘米)。