Featured Silver and Bone Snufff Bottles - Not What they seem?

The following three snuff bottles labelled Silver and Carved Bone - possibly Tibetan have come up for auction. I don't know why they appeal to me. They have missing cabochons and seemed to be tarnished. They are somewhat crudely made. On the other hand, it seems odd that there are three of them and they have stands. What do you all think.

 

I think the stands were purchased off of Amazon to display them on.

 

I never heard of such a thing, but then again I don't have any snuff bottles. Thanks.

 

3 like that....look like tourist souvenirs...picked up at the same place on vacation in the 1990's.

 

The bottles are Mongolian snuff bottles. Mongolian and Tibetan art styles are related, which is why they look a bit Tibetan. But Mongolia has a real snuff culture, Tibet doesn't.
I love this style, it is more earthy than Chinese. Some are all metal, mounted with turquoise and coral, or enamelled.
The metal is either silver or silvertone base metal, the stones are either real turquoise and coral, or glass.
Judging from the colour difference in the turquoise, these could be real turquoise.

I can't say anything about the age, do you have more photos?
I don't know about tourist souvenirs, these are generally collector's items, for local and international collectors.
I'm sure the antique shops of Ulaan Baatar sell them as well, and of course they welcome tourists. But I think Mongolian souvenir shops generally sell different items.

The stands are traditional Chinese stands. Snuff bottles often come with these or similar stands. Asians buy them locally, not from Amazon.

Here are different Mongolian snuff bottle styles:


https://www.bukowskis.com/en/auctio...vers-late-qing-dynasty-and-early-20th-century

Some info on Mongolian snuff culture:
https://snuffhouse.com/discussion/6066/mongolian-snuff-culture

 

And the manner to show them with this poor bases made with soft wood tainted, really not sexy items in my opinion for more than a curiosity price…

 

indeed. they are sold locally and often used for display like this, hence i would consider those a non-issue.

 

Agree. And you can display the bottles with or without. I display mine without.

 

If you like them but don't have any other snuff bottles, will you also want to consider whether to bid, and how much?

 

Most appreciate your generous and thorough information as usual. It is clear the seller doesn't have any clue what these are. There are no bidders so far so they haven't attracted any attention and there is only a short time left.

 

The lowest bid price is $70 USD, so I suppose that is a curiosity price, but since this is an auction it could go anywhere. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

As I said, I don't know why they appeal to me, as I am not a collector. I haven't bid and the reserve price is $70, which would make them about $25 each. I would bid up to $125. The auction closes is about a day.

 

Very informative, Any Jewelry!

 

My favourite kind of seller.

Perfect, that is exactly what I would do.
They are good traditional bottles, my guess is mid 20th century, possibly a bit earlier.
The turquoises look real, the coral could be glass. To Mongolians, and many other Asians, the importance is the colour. Blue for masculine, red for feminine, the harmony between yin and yang, heaven and earth, etc.

Will you let us know if you win them? I would also love to see the carving on them. So you will have to win so you can show photos.

 

I think they are attractive, and show some age, for that price for 3 it is a nice bet.

 

Just what I needed to hear. Thank you very much!

 

I really appreciate your advice. If I get them, I will want to replace the missing cabochons. I remember you talking about this in one of your posts. I'm hoping you'll be able to lead me to a source for them, if I win.

 

Good luck with the auction!
Replacing the cabochons is easy. Measure them, and search online for the right size and colour. The turquoise is Tibetan turquoise, there was an important trade route between Mongolia and Tibet. But... getting Tibetan turquoise can be difficult.
Many people leave them as they are. Central Asians will occasionally replace them with turquoise from a different source, or even glass if they can't get Tibetan ones.

 

Excellent advice. Thank you. Since I am buying them to admire them, I would like to polish them and restore the original look. Bidders have popped up, so I'm not counting on getting them.

 

Fingers crossed.