Lot 236: A CHINESE CARVED HORN POWDER FLASK, QING DYNASTY 19TH CENTURY

A Chinese carved horn powder flask, Qing Dynasty, 19th century. The object is fashioned from a section of horn tapering from a wide, flat base to a narrow nozzle. The exterior is decorated in high relief with a continuous landscape scene featuring a deer scratching its ear with a hind leg, positioned beneath a gnarled pine tree and lingzhi immortality fungus. Bats are depicted in flight above the main scene, representing good fortune. The base is encircled by an incised leiwen or thunder pattern border. The nozzle is adorned with a collar of carved upright petals and contains a metal-lined interior. Two small animal figures are carved in the round and positioned along the upper curved ridge of the flask. The flat base is capped with a piece of dark-stained wood. A rectangular paper label with handwritten script in dark ink is affixed to the wooden base. The label provides historical provenance and reads: Antique Chinese Powder Flask of from the port of Canton brought back from China by Captain of the regiment after the China Campaign [18…].

L: 22cm