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I recently acquired this porcelain snuff bottle that appears to have a marbled glaze. I've found a few porcelain items online with a marble glaze but there doesn't seem to be a lot of information about blue and white porcelain with a marbled glaze. I believe the bottle is from the early 1800's based on the provenance I was given and my research so far. The inside of the bottle is unglazed and stained from tobacco. Any information to assist with identification is greatly appreciated.

I'd guess your snuff bottle likely to be Chinese Republic period (1912-49) to mid-20th century with a base-mark of "Jade" (Yu - 玉) in the cursive form. The giveaway clue to age is that the sidewall motif, though not particularly the jade character, looks to be transfer decoration, which is a process not used in China on a large scale in this manner until the early 20th century. The crane and pine theme is associated with the Longevity god.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Thanks Bill! I appreciate your insight and knowledge. I didn't think it was a transfer because of the lack of uniformity of the outlines. I thought it was just poorly executed painting. I attached a couple more pictures.

Thanks. The gaps in the outlining of the cranes shown in the first of your added images serve to confirm my original view of this bottle being transfer-decorated. At the outset, my judgment was influenced in part by the sight of a crane apparently taking off like a rocket into the sky from the pine tree. It isn't unusual to see cranes depicted as coming in headfirst at a steep angle for a landing, but in my opinion, rocketing upward as shown is only possible when the God of Long Life is riding "craneback" and can offer a metaphysical boost to the crane, which bird is his conveyance as well as one of his attributes. On the other hand, when the transfer decorator finds one of his cut & paste strips won't fit any other way, a vertical take-off is one option open for use that an artist with brush and paint could easily resolve in a more naturalistic manner.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Many thanks, Bill. I'm going to review all my pieces with this new insight in mind.

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