Until 31st Dec, 2025
Buy it now
A CAMEO AGATE ‘DEER AND HORSE’ SNUFF BOTTLE, 1750-1850
Lot 467 - FAS1025
China. The flattened ovoid body supported on a recessed foot and surmounted by a cylindrical neck with flat mouth. The sides finely carved in relief utilizing a caramel-brown striation in the stone to depict on one side a horse with its head raised towards the sun, indicated by the Chinese character ‘ri’ for ‘sun’, and on the other a deer with neatly incised star-shaped spots and a lingzhi fungus.
The deer together with lingzhi is often associated with longevity, prosperity, and official emolument. The horse is a symbol of speed, freedom, and success. Combined, they represent a successful career and long life.
Provenance: This bottle comes from a collection that originates from a highly distinguished Taiwanese family and was assembled primarily during the 1980s and 1990s. Many of the snuff bottles in the collection were acquired in Hong Kong, with the majority believed to have been purchased through Christie’s and Sotheby’s during this period. While original receipts were not retained, possibly due to the sheer size of the collection, it is likely that several of these bottles can be traced in Sotheby’s and Christie’s catalogues from the 1980s and 1990s. The base with an old label typed with an inventory number, ‘92’.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, few tiny nibbles to interior mouth.
Stopper: Coral
Weight: 68.8 g
Dimensions: Height including stopper 69 mm. Diameter neck 21 mm and mouth 8 mm.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2013, lot 893
Price: USD 17,500 or approx. EUR 21,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A carved caramel and honey-color cameo agate snuff bottle, Official School, 1780-1850
Expert remark: Compare the related manner of carving and subject with similar deer and lingzhi.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 25 May 2014, lot 1104
Price: HKD 350,000 or approx. EUR 49,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A cameo agate ‘monkey on horseback’ snuff bottle, Official school, Qing dynasty, 18th/19th century
Expert remark: Compare the related manner of carving and subject with similar horse.
You can find images of this item taken under natural daylight below. Click on an image to zoom in or save. If there are no natural light images for this item, please email us at office@zacke.at or use the request form below.
If there are any existing additional images of this item, you can find them on this tab. You must be logged into your personal Zacke account to see the images. Click on an image to zoom or save.
Log in or sign up to view the natural light images.
Click here to request more information on this lot.
How to Buy Online
You must log in or create an online account in order to buy items from the shop.
Click the red 'Buy it Now' button to buy this item. You will then be able to download your invoice and receive instructions about how to pay. Prices include Buyer's Premium.
If you would like to buy multiple items at the same time, add the items you want to your cart. You will then be able to check out with multiple items simultaneously.
Items in your cart are not reserved. Please complete the purchase process promptly to secure the items.
How to Buy Offline
If you would like to buy one of these items outside of the online shop, please contact us at office@zacke.at or +43 (1) 532 04 52.
Our Terms and Conditions
As part of our ongoing efforts to keep our auctions fair and transparent, we encourage you to read our terms and conditions thoroughly. We urge you to read through §34-50) to ensure you understand them. These terms are specifically designed to protect all serious and committed buyers from bidding against non-payers who attempt to inflate prices without the intent of paying their auction bills.
For further reading about non-payers at auction, go here: https://www.zacke.at/aboutnonpayers/.
The main points include the following:
- Bidders must complete their due diligence and clarify all questions about the objects before the auction. After the auction, Zacke will not answer questions from bidders unless the purchase price has been paid in full. Of course, this does not apply to questions concerning shipping, insurance, customs, etc.
- A sale cancellation of any kind after the fall of the hammer is not possible. The only exception to this fundamental rule is our guarantee of authenticity [the Guarantee].
- A Guarantee Claim, however, can only be raised after the purchase price has been paid in full by the buyer and within 45 days after the auction day.
If you have any questions about our policies, please get in touch with us at office@zacke.at.
By placing a bid, you agree to our Terms of Auction and Terms and Conditions.
