Snuff Bottle thumbnail 1
Snuff Bottle thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Snuff Bottle

1723-1795 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Snuff Bottle
  • Stopper (Doesn't Match)
Materials and techniques
Yellow and red glass bottle, with pink glass stopper
Brief description
Glass snuff bottle coloured yellow and red, stopper of pink coloured glass, China, 1723-1795
Physical description
The bottle is a baluster form with rounded shoulders and short slightly flared neck.
It is made of glass, yellow mottled with irregular patches of red to imitate the mineral realgar.
The flat stopper, made of pink glass, is too large for the neck and not original to this bottle.
The bottle has a faceted foot with an indentation underneath.
Dimensions
  • Height: 6.9cm
Style
Credit line
Brooks Bequest
Summary
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.
Bibliographic reference
White, Helen. Snuff Bottles from China. London: Bamboo Publishing Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992. 291p., ill. ISBN 1870076109.
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.1238-1926

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Record createdJune 10, 1998
Record URL
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