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Of all the jewels that get washed down to their underwater palaces, dragons value pearls beyond all else and for this reason they are a great peril to pearl-divers, whom they see as thieves. In China it is believed that pearls are droplets that fall like rain from the moon into the sea, where they are often swallowed by oysters. So it follows that the pearl which dragons long for most of all is the moon itself. Many have been known to go mad with infatuation and try to steal it from the sky, resulting in a lunar eclipse.
This love has been fixed in the stars with the constellation of the dragon forever chasing the moon across the sky. It is also celebrated in the timing of the Chinese New Year, when the moon rises just beyond reach of the starry dragon, a sign of hope that the mistress of tides and fruitfulness will always escape such rash and consuming lust.
[Source Link:
http://www.unicorngarden.com/drag3.htm]
Well, this bottle just arrived from Taiwan today. It was part of the recent Yu Jen auction held on December 26, 2021,
Treasure in a Bottle the Rong Rui Tang Collection of Snuff Bottles. Rong Rui Tang is a family-owned jewelry business which is now on its third generation. The second generation owner traveled extensively between Taiwan and the U.S. and developed interests in Qing Dynasty imperial works of art and started a collection centered around snuff bottles and jades from the Qing Dynasty. The interest soon spread through the whole family. What started as a pastime straightened the bonds of the now four-generation extended family.
Russet and Cream Nephrite Snuff Bottle:A russet and cream colored nephrite bottle of compressed, and somewhat tapering, oval form. Round neck with a faintly concave oval flat foot. Bottle has a subtle and cleverly carved design of a dragon’s head emerging from the sea at the bottle base longingly reaching up along the right side margin to the moon just below the bottle’s neck. Bottle sides are carved with slightly raised coiled, pointed eared, chilongs that are set in a figure-eight pattern just below the shoulder, and which appear to be well worn. Well hollowed with a 7mm circular mouth. Doomed carnelian stopper set on a black onyx collar with an ivory spoon of proper length.
Height is 2 ½ inches (6.3 cm) by 1.0 inches (2.4cm) in width and is 59.3g without stopper.
Period: ca. 18th century
Condition: Fine, with minor surface wear and abrasions from extended use. Bottle interior sides and spoon were layered in residual snuff. Onyx collar was broken upon receipt.
Provenance: Yu Jen, December 26, 2021, Treasure in a Bottle the Rong Rui Tang Collection of Snuff Bottles, Lot 243. Collector Yeh Bor-wen.
When I saw this bottle prior to the auction I was immediately drawn to to the simplicity and subtlety of the design and for some unknown reason (maybe the fact it was the day after Christmas) I was the only bidder on this lot. Happy, Happy, Happy, ME! Though, now I'm in need of a minor stopper repair.
Enjoy, Charll
