A very rare white jade 'coin' snuff bottle18th/19th century
The compressed circular bottle raised on an oval foot, meticulously carved on both sides with a Spanish silver dollar, the front side with the monarch's head surrounded by an inscription reading 'Carolus.IIII.del.gratia' and the year 1798, the reverse with the Spanish coat of arms and the continued inscription 'Hispan.et.idn.rex.M.8.R.F.M.', all encircled by a milled edge, stopper. 4.8cm (1 7/8in) high (2).注脚十八/十九世紀 白玉雕銀幣鼻煙壺

Provenance:
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 3 November 1994, lot 998
The Angela Chua Collection

來源：
香港蘇富比，1994年11月3日，拍品編號998
蔡劉木蘭收藏

Exhibited:
On loan to the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 1996-2002

展覽：
1996年至2002年借展於新加坡亞洲文明博物館

This snuff bottle belongs to a series of Spanish 'coin' bottles. The Spanish silver dollar was a standard international currency used in the trading ports of China during the first half of 19th century, hence it became a popular subject for snuff bottles. For a discussion of 'coin' snuff bottles, see H.Moss, V.Graham and K.B.Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol.2, Hong Kong, 1998, nos.238 and 336.

These 'coin' bottles are more often seen in quartz and rock crystal but rarely in jade. The present bottle carved from a fine even-white stone, displays not only an exceptional low-relief carving but also a precise reproduction of the original coin. Compare with another rare example of a jade 'coin' snuff bottle, illustrated by D.S.K.Low, More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect, Hong Kong, 2002, no.44.

白玉質，質地白潤，鼓形，表面淺浮雕西班牙銀幣，大小仿真。

本件銀幣鼻煙壺應原屬一組類似的銀幣鼻煙壺。十九世紀上半頁，西班牙銀幣為國際貿易通用貨幣，故在中國亦有流通，相關討論可參見莫仕撝、 V.Graham及曾嘉寶著，《瑪麗與莊智博鼻煙壺珍藏》，卷2，香港，1998年，編號238及336。

以銀幣為裝飾題材的鼻煙壺多見於水晶及石英材質，玉器則頗少見。比較一件劉修敬收藏之玉雕銀幣鼻煙壺，見《More Treasures from the Sanctum of Enlightened Respect》，香港，2002年，編號44。