Carved Jade Snuff Bottle with Coral Stopper and Malachite Washer

China

Qing dynasty (1644-1912), 18th century

  • Titles Carved Jade Snuff Bottle with Coral Stopper and Malachite Washer (Descriptive)
  • Artist China
  • Medium Jade, coral, malachite
  • Dimensions 3 1/4 x 1 3/4 x 3/4 in. (8.3 x 4.4 x 1.9 cm)
  • Credit Line Gift from the Bequest of Arthur Leroy and Lila Fisher Caldwell, Courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of Art, 1996.69.21a-b
  • Work Type snuff bottle with stopper
  • Classification Containers
  • On View

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Ot-4 Although Sotheby's, in London, titled this piece a "peacock" at auction, it is quite obviously a turkey. But even correcting the name does not solve the mystery of the piece's function. A bird of this shape is, in English, of course, known as a turkey; in Hindi, a turkey is called Peru. Although most experts believe that turkeys are native to North America, the fowl are raised in some regions of India, such as Kerala, today, and may have been raised in India earlier than on record. The next question regards the purpose of this piece. The cylinder rising from the bird's body resembles a rosewater sprinkler or Fulani, but, although there is a screw-able finial shaped as a flowerhead to allow for the addition of liquid, there are no "sprinkler" holes on the top, since the seam on the beast is only a decorative element.