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Charll shared this beautiful Xianfeng (1851-1861) dated bottle depicting NeZha combating the Dragon King amongst a rolling sea of blue and eight mythical sea creatures.


Chinese Snuff Bottle Discussion Forum 中國鼻煙壺討論論壇
March 28, 2024, 10:14:53 am
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A Recently Discovered Obsession...

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SBNut
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« on: June 19, 2017, 05:17:14 pm »

Hello All,

I would first like to thank you for accepting my application to join the forum! I feel this forum really helps bridge the gap between auction houses-books-websites as well as provides a lot of information of the huge variety of bottles that have been produced over hundreds of years. I have not defined my areas of interest as of yet as my collection consists of inside painted, glass & overlay, hard stone, ivory/horn and jade (just acquired my first jade one!). I find all these areas appealing for various reasons. I have a significant collection of high-end auction house catalogs (a few bookshelves worth) - mainly Asian art & antiques but only recently have started purchasing various books for a more in-depth look into each area (Art of Snuff Bottles - Moss - on its way!). I'm sure a large majority of my bottles are more on the 20th century side but I try to buy based on appeal and quality. I look forward to sharing and contributing in anyway I can but I may hold back for a bit as I am a few topics behind. Thanks again!  Grin

*Daniel

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« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2017, 06:16:08 pm »

Daniel

Welcome to the forum ! I am a Bangkok based collector but have been in Asia since 1999. You are doing the right thing by investing in a ton of reference material. Happy hunting ! Look forward to see some of your bottles .
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Pat
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Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司
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« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2017, 06:31:00 pm »

Daniel,

     A warm welcome from me as well. I am a veteran collector (I started in Feb.1970, after first learning about them in Nov.1969), based in Jerusalem Israel, though I've a summer home in Ireland (it gets really hot in Israel over the summer!).

     Joey
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Joey Silver (Si Zhouyi 義周司), collecting snuff bottles since Feb.1970

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« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2017, 07:15:10 pm »

Daniel,

Welcome to the forum!  I'm pretty newly tuned in from the midwestern part of the US,
and have learned a lot about this obsession we all seem to share, thanks in great part to the many interesting contributors here.  It's my goal to learn as much as I can about
bottles that used to be in my grandmother's collection and from those of others.

Cheers,


Rube.
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Rube, 4th Generation Collector

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« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2017, 10:04:12 pm »

Dear Daniel,

Welcome! I am betting you're the Daniel I just sold three bottles to on ebay.
If you are, they are good bottles to start off with - particularly the jade one (which I thought went for a bargain!). Wink

You are off to a good start! Don't hold back - you should post it and make me regret selling it! hahaha
Cathy



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Cathy
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« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2017, 10:06:57 pm »

Dear Daniel,

A warm welcome! I'm a newbie collector from Hong Kong. You've come to the right place, here we happily share our love and interests for snuff bottles!

Best,
Samson
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Samson - a young new collector desiring knowledge
SBNut
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« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2017, 11:57:22 am »

Thank you all for the warm welcomes. After reading this forum - it's nice to see a lot of genuinely kind and respectful people here which is refreshing for an online community. I forgot to add that I am in Vancouver, Canada - which fortunately has a high percentage of old Chinese heritage population (in fact our Chinatown is only second to San Fran's in size) so I am hoping I will have a bit more luck picking up some local bottles. Cheesy

Can I ask, where does everyone usually source their bottles from? Ebay is usually swarmed but finding quality bottles is becoming more and more difficult the more I am learning.

Cathy,

That would be me. Can't wait to see them! I haven't seen them posted here (yet? as I haven't even made it to the jade section of the forum). I really like the honey agate one as it seems it would be nice to roll around with in the hand (part of the pleasure is the tactility of these bottles!). Thanks!

*Daniel
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« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2017, 01:42:09 pm »

Dear Daniel,

The snuff bottle community appears to be really, really, SMALL! Everybody knows practically everybody, and maybe knows too much about them!

On posting the bottles - if I tried to post everything I've bought in the last year, it would be a full time job! That's why I'm trying to weed out my collection.

The jade that you bought is white jadeite with splashes of green (confirmed with specific gravity test) and has a nice carving. I do hope you will post it because I never followed up on it to find out much about it. The top was also nice (it has some museum wax to secure it to the top since there was no cork or spoon) but I really like the top - the green is glass imitating jade and the collar is a slice of coral.  As I recall it was well hollowed too. I can't remember now why I didn't hold on to it!

I mailed them a while ago but international mail is so slow! Let me know what you think when they get there!

Wink
Cathy



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« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2017, 02:07:00 pm »

Hi Daniel,

Welcome to the forum from a very hot UK.

The longer you spend on the forum the less bottles you find on Ebay that appeal as your understanding increases.

They are still there to be had but I think the prices being achieved on Ebay are increasing slowly as the number of people chasing the good bottles increases. It may be that as prices being achieved on Ebay increase the number of good bottles being offered on there increases as well due to the high costs of selling at auction.

We seem to be getting more "spotters" at UK auctions, even small regional ones, Chinese people viewing and sending pictures back to someone with knowledge who will give a price to bid up too.

I tend to buy more at auction currently and there are good deals to be had on auctions with just a few good bottles being offered which tend to get left alone by the serious commercial buyers.

Regards, Adrian.



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« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2017, 02:15:45 pm »

Dear Daniel,

     I've been collecting since I was 13, in Toronto Canada. I've NEVER bought a bottle on eBAY! I buy from fellow collectors, at auction, and from private dealers.

    I was pleased that you added a bit about yourself - if you noticed, all who welcomed you listed where they lived.

   Again, good luck in your collecting.
Best,
Joey Silver


Thank you all for the warm welcomes. After reading this forum - it's nice to see a lot of genuinely kind and respectful people here which is refreshing for an online community. I forgot to add that I am in Vancouver, Canada - which fortunately has a high percentage of old Chinese heritage population (in fact our Chinatown is only second to San Fran's in size) so I am hoping I will have a bit more luck picking up some local bottles. Cheesy

Can I ask, where does everyone usually source their bottles from? Ebay is usually swarmed but finding quality bottles is becoming more and more difficult the more I am learning.

Cathy,

That would be me. Can't wait to see them! I haven't seen them posted here (yet? as I haven't even made it to the jade section of the forum). I really like the honey agate one as it seems it would be nice to roll around with in the hand (part of the pleasure is the tactility of these bottles!). Thanks!

*Daniel
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Joey Silver (Si Zhouyi 義周司), collecting snuff bottles since Feb.1970

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« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2017, 02:22:52 pm »

Warm welcome Daniel ..  Smiley

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« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2017, 03:35:11 pm »

Dear Daniel,
welcome! It is refreshing hearing someone from Canada, here in Italy where I live we are experiencing one of the hottest years ever. And drought. My well has dried up for the first time since I lived here.
Kind regards
Giovanni
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SBNut
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« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2017, 04:10:52 pm »

Dear Cathy,

I will definitely post the jade bottle once it arrives for some insight. It looks like 2 children, a Buddhist lion and a pine tree? I did like the other archaic chilong jade bottle you had as well but the symmetry of the 2 dragons seemed off - the jade did have a nice 'chicken bone' tone to it though. Unfortunately the other 3 put me over budget as the CAD$ is terrible right now + these "import fees" nickel and dime me to nothing! I think I will make a nice stopper for it as I have with a few of my other bottles. Do you have any further information on the white/red overlay bottle? The quality of the carving seemed very neat and well done to me. I had purchased an overlay with the same red/white so I can't wait to compare & share.

Dear Adrian,

Thank you! I have noticed that a lot of individual UK sellers have a ton of great items they've bought from UK auctions which must go fairly cheap there. I wish we had the amount of auction houses in this area as you do there. Thank you for the welcome!

Dear Joey,

After reading countless posts in this forum, I have to say I am quite envious that you have joined into this snuff bottle rat race so early before the craze turned to insanity. I can only imagine the collection of bottles you must have/had over the years. I guess we all have to start somewhere - unfortunately it seems the majority of the masterpieces have been snatched up in museum collections or private Chinese collections. I must commend you though, as you have given great insight and comments here I have actually learned quite a lot from your contributions.

Dear George,

Thank you again for the approval! I just finished reading your post on your Jet bottle - very beautiful!

Dear Giovanni,

Thank you! I love how everyone around the world is dying from the heat yet here in Vancouver it is cold and raining! We want summer! During my reading of the board I have seen a lot of your postings of your bottles and they are stunning - you have great taste. I can't imagine that Italy has a surplus of SB's, where have you been acquiring such high quality bottles - if you don't mind me asking?

* Daniel  Smiley
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« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2017, 04:17:04 pm »

Dear Giovanni,

   My natural spring/well, behind my house in the 'area' surrounding the house (a walkway, 3m. wide, which runs almost totally around the house, and keeps the damp soil and water from pressing against the lowest level of the house), is 3m. X 3m. X 1.65m high.

  We've drained it every day for the last 2 weeks (not on Shabbat, though), to work on it - since it is a perfect Mikva (Jewish ritual immersion bath). The couple in my gate lodge have converted and need to immerse themselves in a Mikva.
It naturally refills in 8 hrs. But the water is freezing cold!
Thank G-D I'm already Jewish and don't have to immerse myself!

  Meanwhile, we had 2 days of scorching heat, Sun. & Mon. - 26 C during the day! Roll Eyes Grin

Best,
Joey


Dear Daniel,
welcome! It is refreshing hearing someone from Canada, here in Italy where I live we are experiencing one of the hottest years ever. And drought. My well has dried up for the first time since I lived here.
Kind regards
Giovanni

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Joey Silver (Si Zhouyi 義周司), collecting snuff bottles since Feb.1970

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« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2017, 04:31:09 pm »

Dear Daniel,

    The great advantage to starting in 1970, besides the fact that I was 13, and made my mistakes for CAD$10-40 as a rule (the cost of 3 - 12 pastrami sandwiches at that time, for the sake of comparison! I love pastrami from Pancer's in Toronto... Grin),
was the fact that you could buy better or worse quality, but at least every bottle was a genuine snuff bottle, made to hold snuff, and from ca.1700-1900.

   If I'd known then what I know now, and had had the self confidence to buy as an adult, I would have bought bottles like the box of 10 18th C. angelskin coral SBs I was offered in Mar. 1970 for between CAD$95-125 each, that today would be worth CAD$5,000 or more each. 

   And we won't even discuss the 18th C. Beijing Palace Workshops enamel on copper with a genuine Qianlong nianzhi mark to the base, on sale for CAD$35, that was sold before I could get my mom to go with me to buy it from her friend the antique dealer! 2 years later, I discovered another dealer had spotted it, sent a friend in to buy it, and then sold it to a dear lady in Vancouver, the late Mary Margaret Young, for CAD$6,000!  Sigh...

Best,
Joey
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