Blue glass snuff bottle with moulded, enamelled and carved details, with porcelain stopper, China, 1760-1820

The bottle is a flattened disc form made of blue glass, with moulded and carved details and a decoration of applied porcelain, pierced and painted in enamel colours.
The dome-shaped stopper is made of porcelain coloured white and green to imitate jadeite jade, its rim coloured gold to imitate gilded metal.
The bottle is decorated with masks and mock ring handles on shoulders. On each side there is a circular medallion of porcelain with a pierced diaper pattern painted red, enclosed by solid border with a lattice design painted in green, yellow, blue, black and pink.
The foot has an indentation underneath.
The porcelain medallion dates from latter part of the Qianlong (1736-1795) period or from the Jiaqing (1796-1820) period. The incorporation of ceramic in a glass bottle is very unusual.

Salting Bequest

Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.

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.

C.1574-1910