Snuff Bottle
1750-1895 (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 | |
| Materials and techniques | Blue glass with an overlay of black glass carved in relief |
| Brief description | Blue glass snuff bottle with an overlay of black glass carved in relief, China, 1750-1895 |
| Physical description | The bottle is a rounded flattened flask form curving inwards to a narrow base without a stopper. It is made from blue glass, with an overlay of black glass carved in relief. The decoration depicts a prunus tree in blossom, its branches spreading over the surface of the bottle.The bottle has a decorative base of a prunus flower formed by the black glass overlay and no indentation. The black overlay on blue ground provides a striking and effective contrast which is exploited to good effect in the simple prunus design. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Andrew Burman Bequest |
| Subjects depicted | |
| 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 | C.434-1926 |
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| Record created | June 12, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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