Until 31st Dec, 2025
Buy it now
A SUZHOU AGATE ‘PARROT’ BOX AND COVER, 1750-1850
Lot 423 - FAS1025
China. Of rectangular form with curved corners, the box is supported on four small feet, and the interior is carved with a stepped rim. The flush-fitting lid is expertly carved in openwork to depict a parrot perched on a leafy fruiting peach branch, its plumage meticulously incised. The partially transparent stone of a grayish-white tone with brown and black markings and shadings cleverly utilized by the carver to highlight the parrot and peaches.
Provenance: The Francine and Bernard Wald Collection of Fine Snuff Bottles, thence by descent. Francine and Bernard Wald were a devoted couple and passionate snuff bottle collectors, with a particular love for agate bottles—amassing a collection of over 1,400 pieces. Active participants in the early ICSBS conventions, they acquired many works from leading dealers such as Hugh Moss and Robert Hall, Clare Chu and the Late Robert Kleiner. Francine, a physicist and teacher, and Bernard, a senior lawyer in NYC, often spent summers in Cape Cod coinciding with the sales held at Eldred's auctions. Other collectors, the Dickers, the Dorfs, the Golders, and the Hartmans would visit and ‘Fran and Bernie' as they were known colloquially, held a famed 'Spaghetti' party each year, with all the collectors present. Their prized agate bottles, especially those featuring monkeys—Bernie’s zodiac animal—were proudly displayed in their Greenwich Village home. The couple also wrote articles for the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, minimal nibbling, a tiny chip to the box, natural inclusions, and a drilling holes to the lid.
Weight: 49 g (excl. stand) 68 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Length 6 cm (excl. stand), 6.5 cm (incl. stand)
Raised on an fitted wood stand dating from the mid-20th century or earlier. (3)
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related agate plaque with similar parrot inlaid into the cover of a wood inkstone box dated to the Qing dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, accession number 故文000035N000000001.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 14 September 2015, lot 8128
Price: USD 5,625 or approx. EUR 6,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Suzhou agate toggle, 18th/19th century
Expert remark: Compare related the related manner of carving and stone. Note the size (5 cm) and that the lot is a pendant.
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.
