Snuff bottle

Carved from animal horn, this scene depicts a man, dressed in official robes and mounted on horseback, looking down at his attendant who marches next to him. A lot of Confucian beliefs focused on one’s place in society. This man’s clothing and attendant tell us that he was ambitious and successful, having passed the imperial civil service examinations and entered officialdom. This figure may have represented an ideal that the bottle’s owner aspired to follow in his own life.