Vintage Carved Soapstone Snuff Bottle

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Description

This is a Chinese carved soapstone snuff bottle. The stone shows attractive yellow tan color with cloudy white inclusions, which … Read more This is a Chinese carved soapstone snuff bottle. The stone shows attractive yellow tan color with cloudy white inclusions, which the carver has used creatively as part of the design. The front is cared with a traditional literati scene - a scholar seated beneath a gnarled pine tree in a rocky landscape. The carving uses the lighter white areas of the stone to highlight the figure and tree branches. The scene symbolizes contemplation and harmony with nature.

The carver exploited the natural color variations in the stone to create a layered landscape effect, as he carved foliage growing out of rocks on the other side. In the open area between carvings, he carved a poetic inscription and there is a cyclical date which is hard to read.

The bottle has an elongated shape with a flat oval bottom. The fine carving could be an earlier bottle, except its shallow and small interior betrays its later date. It is matched with a red glass or stone stopper encased in brass and a brass spoon, See less