1970s Vintage Picasso Jasper Snuff Bottle

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The snuff bottle with the unusual shape is made of Jasper, also called Picasso Jasper or Spider web Jasper because … Read more The snuff bottle with the unusual shape is made of Jasper, also called Picasso Jasper or Spider web Jasper because of the black lines. The name Picasso Jasper is a trade name, on account of the interesting patterns of lines that resemble an abstract painting. In my opinion, the design reminds me more of abstract expressionist, but the Picasso name is more familiar.

The bottle with the long neck, sloping shoulders and tapering to a flat oval foot is not a shape that snuff bottle carvers prefer. But it was the 1970's when the snuff bottle trade was re-vitalized after the end of the Cultural Revolution in China when the country was in turmoil. Snuff Bottle carvers utilized whatever materials that were available and perhaps this particular shape was best to show off the beauty of the stone. The top is slightly concave, a popular trend of the bottles made at the end of the 1970's. It is matched with a crystal stopper on a black collar to highlight the black lines of the bottle. The black lines run almost parallel across the bottle and is indeed an attractive piece. See less