chine Banded agate / chalcedony cameo-carved Qing-era...

Chinese carved agate fluted cameo snuff bottle from the QING dynasty, circa 1780-1850, from the former Sir David and Lady Scholey collection and still bearing its historical label John Sparks Ltd, London. Of flattened globular form, the bottle is carved from a translucent, highly decorative agate, threaded with natural gray-brown, cream and white bands. The lapidary intelligently exploited a superficial honey-caramel layer to bring the main design into relief, following the refined technique of cameo-carved agates. One face depicts a monkey mounted on a horse beneath a pine tree. This scene belongs to Chinese auspicious repertoire and refers to the famous puzzle/wordplay Ma shang feng hou, expressing a wish for rapid promotion to a high rank. The pine completes the composition with its traditional symbolism of longevity and constancy. The sculpture is especially interesting for its use of the stone’s different natural layers: the monkey, the horse, the trunk and branches of the pine emerge from the caramel layer, while the lighter areas of the agate naturally form the background of the scene. The bottle stylistically belongs to the great Qing agate cameo tradition, sometimes grouped in specialized literature with the

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