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Snuff bottle

Snuff bottle

  • Place of origin:

    China (made)

  • Date:

    1760-1861 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    [Stopper] Coral
    [Snuff bottle] Carved nephrite jade

  • Credit Line:

    Salting Bequest

  • Museum number:

    C.1769&A-1910

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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Snuff is powdered tobacco, usually blended with aromatic herbs or spices. The habit of snuff-taking spread to China from the West during the 17th century and became established in the 18th century. People generally carried snuff in a small bottle. By the 20th century these bottles had become collectors' items, owing to the great variety of materials and decorative techniques used in their production.

Physical description

The bottle is an oval flattened flask form made from milky white nephrite jade with a light brown tinge. It has a dome shaped stopper of coral and a high foot with high angular indentation underneath. The decoration depicts a monkey picking magic fungus in a rocky landscape and an inscription meaning 'Picking magic fungus'. On the reverse there is a monkey and a pine.

Place of Origin

China (made)

Date

1760-1861 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

[Stopper] Coral
[Snuff bottle] Carved nephrite jade

Marks and inscriptions

Picking magic fungus

Dimensions

Height: 5.3 cm

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

White, Helen. Snuff Bottles from China. London: Bamboo Publishing Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992. 291p., ill. ISBN 1870076109.

Materials

Coral; Nephrite

Techniques

Carving

Subjects depicted

Pine; Monkey; Fungus

Categories

Containers; Personal accessories

Collection code

EAS

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Qr_O7381
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