White Jade Snuff Bottle?

[Baik]

Hi,

I recently came into possesion of several snuff bottles and really know nothing about them. Any help identifying these and possible value would be much appreciated.

This one looks to be White Jade.








Thanks,

Todd

[George]

I think this could be a nephrite Jade. Also called mutton fat.

Lets see what some others say..

[Baik]

I think this could be a nephrite Jade. Also called mutton fat.

Lets see what some others say..

Thanks for your response. I looked online at some other nephrite jade bottles and compared to some other examples it looks to be the same "dirty" material while white jade is a much cleaner white.

[Tom B.]

Dear Todd,

Congratulations on another beautiful snuff bottle, you certainly are lucky to own them.  I agree with George that you beautiful snuff bottle appears to be Hetian Nephrite Jade as opposed to Jadeite from Burma.  This is possibly Mutton Fat jade which is a particularly prized sort of Nephrite jade, but we will see what others have to say.  The dark areas are possibly remnants of the “skin” or outer layer of the jade that forms when a piece of jade has been tumbling in a river for many years.  

It is a very special piece with nice carving, excellent polish, and the original stopper.  A great snuff bottle that you will never grow old of owning.

Best regards,

Tom B.

[George]

On a side note Todd...

If you could edit the size of future pics down quite a bit.. Would be better..

[Pat - 查尚杰]

Beautiful piece! Love the stopper too ...

[Lotus Flower]

There's something unusual about this bottle, it confuses me.

It has red and green inclusions. The carver has used the red inclusions to colour the flowers and carved a bee in the shape of a black inclusion.

If you look at the neck it has a 'waxy' texture and looks soft where it has been chipped around the rim.

I might be way off on this, but could it be Soapstone?

But then if it was Soapstone you could argue it would be better carved. So maybe it is Jade.

And if it is Jade then it must be Jadeite, Nephrite wouldn't have those colourful inclusions.

So i'm back to where I started, confused!

Worth discussing further I think,

James

[Wattana]

Hi James,

It is good policy to question and analyze all the possible candidates before reaching conclusions on the stone.

Let's look at 'soapstone': characteristically it has a waxy and slightly translucent quality not unlike the present bottle. It is commonly of a pale yellow, honey or beige hue, and does often have traces / patches of other colours, as you say. However, white soapstone is extremely rare. And, as you say, being a soft material, it is easier to carve more intricate designs, although snuff bottles of soapstone are frequently left plain, as the Chinese appreciated the tactile qualities of it. A possible candidate.

Jadeite polishes to a vitreous glassy shine, quite unlike nephrite jade, so we can rule out jadeite.

White quartz is of similar colour, but somewhat more opaque in appearance. An unlikely option.

Nephrite, on the other hand, is characteristically waxy in both look and feel. The finest white nephrite is also wonderfully translucent. "Mutton fat" is a very apt description for these qualities. But nephrite is found in a wide range of colours, including pinks and browns, not to mention greys and black. It is not unusual to see traces of other colours in a single piece of nephrite, so you cannot discount nephrite on that score. Only the finest material is without blemishes or secondary colours. Tom B. mentioned the 'skin', which is another sought after feature on nephrite. But in this case I don't think the colour is caused by climatic exposure.

It is hard to be 100% positive from photos alone, but in my opinion the present bottle is made of nephrite. An easy way to check is to try scratching an unobtrusive area of the bottle with a piece of apatite or feldspar. Soapstone will scratch, while nephrite will remain unmarked. 

It is carved in a typical style seen on nephrite bottles, and the tiny chip on the lip is consistent with impact damage found on nephrite items, too.
   

[Lotus Flower]

Hi Tom.

Thank you for engaging in a discussion.

The polish and sheen do look like that of Nephrite don't they, unquestionably.

Am going to look for a Neprite carving with pink/red inclusions.


James

[George]

Very nice Tom !

[Wattana]

Am going to look for a Neprite carving with pink/red inclusions.

Hi James,
   Look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Todd,
   Completely overlooked saying what I thought of the bottle! I think it is a very attractive example of carved nephrite, and appears to have some age. Can you tell us how tall it is?

Tom

[Lotus Flower]

Hi Tom.

I must be honest, I am finding it very hard to find anything.

So far this is all I have come up with:

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/18811/lot/554/

Am going to keep looking though,

James

[Wattana]

Hi James,

In my opinion that pendant is not 'mutton fat' jade. Hard to tell from the photo, but it looks more like what the Chinese call 'steamed chestnut' jade, the deep yellow ochre in this case tinged with darker brown areas.

Mutton fat jade is a translucent off-white, which may or may not have traces of other hues, or a 'skin' where the piece has been exposed to weathering over the centuries. Here is a natural river pebble from the Khotan region that still has its sought-after skin. The second image is a flawless piece of fine quality mutton fat jade. The last one, of an archer's ring, has some beige traces like on Todd's bottle.

[Lotus Flower]

Hi Tom.

I am still confused to be honest.

Can you see red/pink in Todd's bottle? (the same colour as the red stone on the stopper)

I have never seen that in a nephrite item and i'm at a loss to find a similar example.

Maybe it's just a trick of the light. They aren't the best of photographs.

Will just leave it at that (because you're right, all the other aspects of the bottle look like nephrite)

James