Shadow Agate picture bottle

So to describe my first purchase, this was a ‘Shadow Agate picture bottle' involving a little carving, and very well hollowed. It is a most appropriate subject and colour for a snuff bottle because the russet inclusions have been used to show ‘Putai Ho-Shang'. He is always depicted as a very corpulent man with a bare chest and abdomen and he is the patron saint of tobacconists. In this bottle he appears surprised by a bat whilst sitting below some tobacco leaves. The bat to the Chinese is a good luck symbol. You can see how easily he appears, nicely placed within the bottle yet only his head and a suggestion of his hand have been carved. (See the photograph by using the link at the bottom of this article).

We now own a number of ‘Picture Agates’ and to illustrate the different types described, the photograph of the Duck with Lingzhi fungus in its beak is a good ‘Silhouette' example. Incidentally, the fungus is a symbol for wishing long life. This bottle is very unusual as there is a recess carved originally to create the image that serves as a built in dish. (See the photograph by using the link at the bottom of this article).