A ‘DEER AND HORSE’ CARNELIAN SNUFF BOTTLE, QING DYNASTYChina, 19th century. Well carved from a pebble in high relief to depict to one side a spotted stag with its head raised toward the pine tree above, and to the other, a horse with one leg raised and tethered to a pine tree. The smoothly polished translucent stone is of a spectacular deep-red color with darker shadings cleverly utilized by the lapidary to highlight certain aspects of the scene.Provenance: Richwood Fine Art, Wigan, United Kingdom. From a private collection in Pennsylvania, USA, acquired from the above. The collection was assembled over a period of 30 years, specializing primarily in glass and hardstone snuff bottles. Richwood Fine Art is an Englishpany run by Keith Richards and Ken Hailwood, offering an eclectic range of paintings, works of art, antiques, and antiquities, with over 40 years of collective experience.Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, microscopic nicks, the stone with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks over time.Stopper: CoralWeight: 35.7 gDimensions: Height incl. stopper 60 mm. Diameter mouth 4 mmA horse tethered to a post forms amon rebus which expresses a wish for speedy promotion for young candidates. It was a popular subject found on Official School bottles of the late 18th/early 19th century. For a further discussion of this subject, see H. Moss, V. Graham, and K. B. Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle: The J & J. Collection, New York, 1993, no. 151, and H. Moss, V. Graham, K. B. Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, vol. 2, Quartz, Hong Kong, 1998, nos. 302-4.Thebination of a deer and horse is evocative of the phrase ‘zhi luweima’, meaning to point at a deer and call it a horse. The Records of the Grand Historian tell a story where the powerful eunuch and chancellor Zhao Gao (d. 207 BC), in an attempt to control the Qin government, devised a loyalty test for court officials using a deer and horse: “Zhao Gao was contemplating treason but was afraid the other officials would not heed hismands, so he decided to test them first. He brought a deer and presented it to the Emperor but called it a horse. The Emperor laughed and said, "Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse?" Then the Emperor questioned those around him. Some remained silent, while some, hoping to ingratiate themselves with Zhao Gao, said it was a horse, and others said it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly arranged for all those who said it was a deer to be brought before the law and had them executed instantly. Thereafter the officials were all terrified of Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao gained military power as a result of that.” (tr. Watson 1993:70)Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: San Francisco, 25 June 2014, lot 6153Price: USD 2,750 or approx.EUR 3,300 converted and adj