A Chinese carved green tourmaline snuff bottle

[PeterH]

This green tourmaline snuff bottle shows a recumbent goat under a flowering pine tree with a flowering peach on the reverse.The stopper is deep red tourmaline. Age is stated at late 19 C. Both the bottle and top are gem quality (AADLA report). Provenace is from the Victor Topper Collection. Height minus stopper is 46 mm.

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Peter,
    A very fine bottle, even though I am partial to thin plain flasks. They are more functional, in my opinion. And they show off the stone 's colour.
    I have plans to meet Renee Topper, the late Victor's widow, for early dinner on Thur. She lives in Toronto, where I am at present, and my late parents were friends of the Toppers. I will mention the bottle and see if she has any extra information on the bottle.
Best,
Joey

[George]

Very pretty bottle Peter, even though I am not as attracted to ornate carved bottles...

[Wattana]

Another interesting and fine bottle Peter.

Deep green tourmaline is quite underrated by collectors, who mostly go for the pink or pale green and pink (watermelon) varieties. Green tourmaline samples I have show much stronger dichroism than other colours. Is that the case with your bottle?

I have a couple of bottles from the Victor Topper collection too. They are plain, not ornate like yours, but exquisitely carved and finished.

Tom

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Victor Topper was a great collector of Archaic Chinese Bronzes, actually. His family were very wealthy Polish Jewish furriers, who emigrated to Canada just before WWI, and were big buyers in the Far East from the 1950s. Going there on business, Victor of blessed memory got interested in east Asian Arts, and in snuff bottles after meeting a couple of collectors from the DC area while on a cruise to Bermuda on his honeymoon with Renee, his dear wife. It was Victor donating 50 'rejects' from his snuff bottle collection to a charity art sale at our synagogue in Nov.1969, which led me to collect (I saw the bottles on display and got  'hooked'; and the rest is history, as they say). Victor had great taste in everything. Always well dressed, and their Toronto home is very well appointed, as well.
Joey

[PeterH]

Thamks to George, Tom and Joey for your invaluable information.

I obtained the snuff bottle from Oregon, USA in October 2010 a little less than 2 years since the tragic death of Victor Topper at 54 years. My notes say that the snuff bottle had been in his collection for 34 years.

After this one had been purchased another pale blue tourmaline snuff bottle from the same collection was offered for sale. I hesitated briefley and it was gone. I regret this still.


I have been reading a book " Hidden Meaning of Chinese Art" by Terese Tse Bartholomew. Published in 2006 by The Asian Art Museum, San francisco.

The goat represnts the "breath and light of life" which returns at the beginning of spring.The recumbent position may be a symbol of piety.The pine (page 210) is evergreen hardy and long living. It probably represents fortitude of a husband and wife and wishes for longlevity of a bride and groom.

The flowering peach has two fruit representing a long life, abundance of blessings and sons (page 204).The blossoming peach tree represents spring and regreneration.

The bottle may have been a gift to a newly wedded couple.

Asking for forgiveness for my inexperienced interpretation and inviting superior knowledge.

Best wishes Peter

[PeterH]

Dear Tom

Tourmaline pleochroism (dichroism) is definely stronger in deep green and brown stones as compared to eg pale or colourless ones (with weal dichroism).This bottles if simplified to a rectangle with short sides has been carved such that the best colour is shown on the long sides. The shorter sides show deeper colour with stronger dichroism.

The carver of this bottles has also created a wrap around effect along the bottle with the elongated foliage.

Hypotheticaly with a light green stone the reverse would have applied to maximinise the deeper green colour.

Aquamarine specimens vary markedly in dichroism which can be very weak in some.

I have just recovered from a computer crash with several days downtime and am pleased to be online again. Fortunately everything was backed up.

Best wishes to everyone  Peter

[Wattana]

Thanks for your comments Peter

I asked about the dichroism because I have a natural mineral 'column' of dark green tourmaline which your bottle's colour reminded me of. Viewed against the light in one direction it is a rich deep green. Turn it through 90 degrees and it appears almost black.

Interesting what you say about dichroism in aquamarine varying from specimen to specimen. I wonder if this variation is a regional characteristic allowing one to better guess where a particular piece comes from.

Glad to here your computer crash didn't cause any permanent loss of data.

Tom