AN EMBELLISHED ‘POMEGRANATE’ CORAL SNUFF BOTTLE, 19TH CENTURYCoral with neatly incised inlays made from turquoise, carnelian and tiger’s eye.The bottle: China, 19th century, possibly even a bit earlier. The embellishment: Japan, late 19th – early 20th century.Of heart form with flat top and recessed foot surrounded by an oval foot rim, the embellishments carved in crisp relief with two pomegranates and one blossom growing from a gnarly stem, surrounded by a few smaller leaves.Coral is a symbol of longevity, due to its resemblance to a tree that seems to last forever. It was also a symbol of the first rank as civil officers of the first rank wore coral buttons on their hats. Coral was highly valued at court and was considered to be the third most valuable gem. In the catalogue of the Exhibition of Qing Dynasty Costume Accessories, page 31, the order of value is given as pearl, ruby, coral, sapphire, lapis lazuli, quartz, shell etc. Coral was also the material used for the emperor's court necklace when worshipping at the Altar of the Sun, matched by a coral belt. Coral snuff bottles were produced for the Court throughout the early to mid-Qing period, and apart from the Palace workshops, we are told in Masterpieces of Snuff Bottles in the Palace Museum, page 29, that the records reveal that snuff bottles made of gems and gemstones (which included coral) were mostly produced at Imperial lapidary workshops in Suzhou and Yangzhou by order of the Emperor. The rarity of genuine early and mid-Qing coral snuff bottles is presumably due to the fact that only the occasional branch was large enough to make even a small snuff bottle. Several of the earliest known coral bottles were made in segments joined together, or when made from flawed material (which was all that was available), requiring either patches of coral inlaid to fill flaws, or wax inlays. Shape: HeartHollowing: Very good Mouth, neck and lip: Flat top with tiny mouthBase: Oval with raised foot rimStopper: Green glass in imitation of nephriteHeight of the bottle with stopper: 5.9 cm.Width of the mouth: 5 mm.Width of the neck: 19 mm.Weight: 58.7 gramsCondition: Excellent. Remainders of old glue near the inlays. Some natural imperfections to the material and microscopic nibbling two rims.Provenance: Hungarian private collection珊瑚石榴鑲嵌鼻烟壺,十九世紀珊瑚鑲嵌切割整齊的綠松石、紅玉髓及虎眼石壺:中國, 十九世紀,可能更早些 鑲嵌:日本,十九世紀晚期至二十世紀早期壺型: 心形掏膛: 非常精細壺口、頸與唇部:平面壺口,小口底足: 橢圓形圈足壺蓋: 仿玉玻璃蓋壺高(含壺蓋): 5.9 厘米口徑: 5 毫米壺頸寬: 19 毫米重量: 58.7 克品相: 極佳, 鑲嵌物附近可見膠狀餘留,一些天然材料缺陷及兩處機微小磕碰來源: 匈牙利私人收藏