Lot 18

[COLLECTION OF PROF. J. GILBERT & CORA MCALLISTER] CHINESE YELLOW JADE WITH RUSSET SKIN 'BUDDHIST LION' SNUFF BOTTLE

MASTER OF THE ROCKS SCHOOL, 1740-1850

Fine Asian Works of Art

Auction: 07 November 2025 from 10:00 GMT

Estimate: £800 - £1,200

Description

清 1740-1850 卵石皮浮雕派黃玉留皮巧雕佛獅母子圖鼻煙壺

of rounded rectangular shape, carved in relief to one side through a pale russet skin to reveal the yellow jade beneath with a mother Buddhist lion and her cub under a large pine tree, the reverse plain, all below a cylindrical neck with flat rim and small mouth, supported on a short foot ring, with jadeite stopper

Dimensions

height: 6cm; 7cm with stopper

Provenance

Collection of Prof. J. Gilbert & Cora McAllister, thence by descent based in England. With collector's handwritten note and Collector's Number 154, acquired in 1973 from or via “AS”.

Dr. J. Gilbert McAllister (1904–1993) was Emeritus Professor in Anthropology at the University of Texas. Primarily a cultural anthropologist, he also carried out significant archaeological research. Cora McAllister (1904-1995) graduated from the University of Texas in 1924 as a Member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1933–1934, she and Gilbert lived amongst Kiowa-Apache Indians in Oklahoma, where Gilbert conducted field research. In 1935, Gilbert was lured back to the University of Texas, where, by 1935, he became Chairman of the department and head of a large archaeological program. There, Gilbert (or Dr. Mac as he was affectionately known by his students) made his name as an archaeological administrator and especially as a remarkable teacher for over 33 years until his retirement in 1968. In a Memorial Resolution Committee Memorandum, it is noted that he had a “massive integrity about him” and “we talk about role models these days. He was one of the good ones.”

Cora and Gilbert’s large and eclectic collection was informed by a deep love for Asian cultures and antiquities, coupled with a scholarly approach. Their collection spanned vast time periods, materials, and included cultures of China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and more. The collection was mostly acquired in the 1960s and 1970s, variously from Cora and Gilbert’s friends and fellow academics who made trips to Asia (some of whom were commissioned specifically by Gilbert), their usual dealers and contacts, as well as from fellow collectors.

For more information about Dr and Ms McAllister, please visit: https://shaybo-therisingtide.blogspot.com/2014/08/j-gilbert-mcallister-memorial.html?m=1

Footnote

The present snuff bottle can be compared to a number of examples produced by the Master of the Rocks School which appears to have specialised in jade carvings from this distinctive material of yellow-chestnut stone with russet skin. For examples of 'Master of the Rocks' russet and yellow jade snuff bottles, see: one carved with 'Noble Occupations' theme from the Mary and George Bloch Collection, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 23 November 2010, lot 122; and another 'figures in landscape' snuff bottle from the same collection was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 26 November 2013, lot 74; and a further comparable example carved with female immortal and monkey from the Francine and Bernard Wald Collection, was sold at Bonhams New York, 17 March 2025, lot 215.

For a discussion of the Master of the Rocks School of carving, see H. Moss, V. Graham, K.B. Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Hong Kong, 1995, vol. 1, Jade, nos. 133-43.