Snuff bottle in nephrite with an immortal and inscription
Creator
Chinese
Date1736 - 1795
Mediumnephrite, mother of pearl, coral
DimensionsOverall: 4.6 × 1.3 × 9.2 cm (1 13/16 × 1/2 × 3 5/8 in.)
Credit LineThe Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario
Object number2025/1246
ProvenanceShipping Notice - see record AGO.167843
This poem was written by the Qianlong emperor in 1745. The second line is puzzling, since the orchid is not a winter-blooming plant; it may be that the emperor is inscribing an album of paintings of flowers and that the ice and frost refer to the white colour of the paper or silk: “On the white silk the painted orchids look like real orchids.” One often senses the great effort the emperor put into his poetry without achieving total control of his medium.
Copyright
Photo © AGO
LocationNot currently on display
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