Three Chinese Porcelain Snuff Bottles, Late 19th-Early 20th Century

Late 19th-Early 20th Century

Comprising a turquoise ground molded 'zodiac' example, decorated with the twelve animals of the zodiac in a landscape, bearing a Qianlong four-character iron red mark, malachite stopper; a molded leaf-form 'lotus and insect' example, glass stopper; a light lavender-blue ground white slip decorated 'flying cranes' example, blue glass stopper.

Height of tallest including stopper 3 1/2 in., 8.89 cm.

Property from the Collection of David Billings and Beverly Hall Billings, Nantucket, MA.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Provenance:

Inherited from the Garry P. Mack collection.

Property from the Collection of David Billings and Beverly Hall Billings, Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Creating a collection can be the work of a lifetime and cherishing another's life through his collection is something special indeed. My father's passion for collecting Chinese art infused everything he did. He could weave a snuff bottle story into any aspect of his eclectic world from the kitchen to the chemical lab. Stories still abound about overcrowded and cluttered rooms in the home of this talented and temperamental Renaissance man, but that was years ago and I have shared some of these reflections in other arenas. For now, in ‘the spirit of the chase’ aspect of collecting, I would like to offer an unorthodox haiku to celebrate this occasion.

Can I put new stoppers

On old bottles and

Call them mine?

Or is it time to empty boxes

And pursue the divine?

Beverly Hall Billings

Nantucket, Massachusetts