Snuff bottle, overlay glass, amber-coloured on transparent grey, double happiness

The bottle is an oval flask form, slightly flattened without a stopper.
It is made of transparent glass with an overlay of amber-coloured glass carved in relief.
The decoration consists of 'Double happiness' characters on each side with masks and mock ring handles on the shoulders.
The foot is partly formed by overlay with very shallow smooth indentation underneath.
The crude quality of the carving suggests a date during the period 1850 to 1870, or later if made for a foreign market, as is suggested by the 'Double happiness' motif which is exotic yet simple enough for foreigners to recognise and understand.

Purchased from Professor Lessing (Kunstgewerbe Museum Berlin), accessioned in 1880. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Bought, Kunstgewerbe Museum Berlin per Prof Lessing

The original register entry states that this bottle was 'Fashioned in Pekin from material prepared in Shantung' and is nineteenth-century.

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.

437-1880