B61

Quartz, crystal, the clear, colourless material with a thin brown skin, sensitively carved with a phoenix looking back over its shoulders towards bamboo growing from the rocks below.

Chinese, 1780-1860
Stopper: coral carved with bamboo
Provenance: Estelle Chapman, London, 1973
Height: 6.2cm

This rock crystal bottle not only has clarity and sparkle which collectors admire - it has practical advantages too - one can see how much snuff there is left. When full of snuff, this bottle would be fascinating as the phoenix depicted on the front would be practically the same colour as the snuff and would appear rather ghostly!