Message #46483

[Wattana]

To continue this thread I'm posting a superb modern example of a Lapis Lazuli bottle. It was commissioned by a Mongolian friend, and was illustrated in the Journal of the ICSBS a few years ago in an article on snuff bottles from Mongolia. As some of you know, Mongolia is probably the last place in the world where snuff bottles are still in use. Not only do they still use snuff and keep it in bottles, the giving and receiving of bottles is part and parcel of the social networking scene, much as is was during the Qing dynasty in China. Most of the modern stone bottles are supplied from lapidaries in the Shanghai area, and only stoppered in Mongolia. But for that really special bottle, there are a couple of master carvers taking new commissions in Ulaanbaatar. For these it is normal for the 'patron' to supply the raw stone, and choose the design, as was the case here.

Of special note is the elaborate carving on the base, and the engraved motif on the underside of the solid gold collar (just visible in the last shot).