Snuff Bottle
1723-1880 (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.
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| Materials and techniques | Glass coloured with pink and white swirls and covered in a transparent layer, with stopper of crackled glass coloured mauve and set in metal |
| Brief description | Glass snuff bottle with pink and white swirls and covered in a transparent layer, with stopper of mauve crackled glass set in metal, China, 1723-1880 |
| Physical description | The bottle is a heart-shaped flattened flask form. It is made of swirling pink and white glass, perhaps intended to imitate rose quartz, and covered by a layer of transparent glass. The stopper is dome shaped and made of cracked glass, coloured mauve to imitate rose quartz set in metal. The base of the bottle is flat without a foot. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology |
| Object history | Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology (Jermyn Street, London), accessioned in 1901. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street;; |
| 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 | 5357-1901 |
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| Record created | June 10, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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