Vintage large Gray Banded Agate Snuff BottleThis large size snuff bottle is often intended for sale in the Mongolian market. The grey agate bottle has nice grey and black bands. It is well hollowed for its size. The spoon reaches deeply all the way to the sides. On the exterior, animal or Taotie mask decorate the side face on each side. The raise oval foot is nicely done and the top is slightly concave. The snuff bottle cap is an impressive piece of agate, the bone spoon is held on with a wood

If the artist was trying to convey a lonely

There are hairline cracks on the surfaces

the Premier of China after the Cultural Revolution

A paperweight

The form is a flattened pear shape that tapers to a well made raise oval foot

The background color is imperial yellow on which paintings of red crested cranes appear on the cartouches on the upper and lower sections of the gourd

from a village scene with musicians and dancers

chalcedony that was the stone of choice for snuff bottle carvers before the 20th century

I read an article about a collector in Hong Kong who collected this type of ceramic wares in the 1950's without fully aware what they represented

but quite uncommon to have a name of a place where an object belongs

Collectors like jade bottles that are made from jade rocks

The bottle is well  hollowed