Please complete the form to email this item.

Snuff bottle

Snuff bottle

  • Place of origin:

    China (made)

  • Date:

    1750-1895 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    [Snuff bottle] Glass, coloured brown and blue
    [Stopper] Coral and turquoise

  • Credit Line:

    Salting Bequest

  • Museum number:

    C.1578-1910

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

  • Download image

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 with sloping shoulders and an uneven dome-shaped stopper.
It is made of glass, variegated brown and blue, perhaps imitating turquoise and jasper. The stopper is of coral and turquoise.
The foot is formed by brown glass overlay with an indentation underneath.

Place of Origin

China (made)

Date

1750-1895 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

[Snuff bottle] Glass, coloured brown and blue
[Stopper] Coral and turquoise

Dimensions

Height: 5.2 cm

Descriptive line

Snuff bottle, glass, coloured brown and blue, China, 1750-1895

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

Glass; Coral; Turquoise

Categories

Containers; Personal accessories; Glass

Collection code

EAS

Download image
Qr_O7869
Ajax-loader