Vintage Black Stone Snuff Bottle

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Writing about this shadow agate bottle two days before Halloween is quite appropriate to say the bottle presented an eerie … Read more Writing about this shadow agate bottle two days before Halloween is quite appropriate to say the bottle presented an eerie landscape. The manner the snuff bottle carver made the best use of the various colorations was brilliant. If one uses his/her imagination to visualize the images presented, the white yellow layers on the shoulder stretching up to the neck represent clouds, hovering over grey mists that envelope the entire background, lending an atmosphere of mist and fog. Trees with sharp branches covered the dark background added to the ghostly atmosphere. The bottle is of a flattened oblong shape tapering slightly towards the bottom and ending in an oval flat foot. The rounded shoulder ends in a short round neck with a flat top and a small opening in the center. The cap is a green/grey agate which compliments the bottle. The stopper is made of wood and the spoon is bone. It is important to add that the cap is well made because it closes the bottle with a snap.

As a graduate student trained in the arts of critical thinking and logic at the University of Chicago, I soon learn if there is no solid evidence of facts, it is often acceptable to theorize an explanation. My theory regarding the appearance of many stone snuff bottles after the mid 20 century is due to trades with Africa and Southeast Asia when the China became the People Republic. Merchants returned with colorful stones which became the materials for craftsmen to turn into objects of art. Technology also facilitated the excavation of natural objects in China which led to the mines of nephrite found in Khotan and light green serpentine stones in Shangdong, these are just two examples. That is my theory of dating this bottle and other bottle like it as post 1970. For those who are not familiar with this date, Deng Xiaoping who took office of the Chairman in 1978 and gradually turned China from Maoist ideologies and opened it to foreign investment and technology and its labor force to the global market. See less