As Chinese collectors have flooded into the market for collectibles, a small but consistent focus of their attention has been Chinese snuff bottles. Bonhams will offer over 150 examples drawn from three collections as part of its Asia week series. Leading the March 20th event in New York will be an 18th century carved rock crystal double gourd form bottle produced in the Imperial Palace workshops. It’s expected to sell for $25,000-$35,000.Two other items likely to interest collectors are an agate bottle from the late 18th to 19th century, with one side carved with a scene from a 14th century epic novel called “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” (est. $12,000-$18,000), and a rare Dehau ware figural form snuff bottle (est. $12,000-$18,000). Produced in the coastal province of Fujian, it depicts a young scholar cradling a tablet.
Snuff Bottles Featured In Bonhams Asia Week
March 15, 2012
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