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Snuff bottle

Snuff bottle

  • Place of origin:

    China (made)

  • Date:

    1750-1895 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Dark pink glass with an overlay of dark green glass carved in relief

  • Credit Line:

    Salting Bequest

  • Museum number:

    C.1673-1910

  • Gallery location:

    In store

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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 ia a rounded flattened flask form, the shoulders sloping up to a cylindrical neck without a stopper.
It is made of glass, dark pink, with an overlay of dark green glass carved in relief.
The decoration depicts a fish on its back amid waves, spouting a pavilion which rests on a cloud issuing from the fish's mouth; a crane flies towards the pavilion with a rod in its mouth. On the reverse, a different pavilion above waves, and a bat; on one shoulder a banana plant.
The foot is formed by green overlay and there is a high indentation underneath.
The decoration represents the saying 'One more counter for the pavilion by the sea' which refers to the three Taoists who counted their ages in geological periods and laid down a counter to mark each era; it conveys a wish for long life.

Place of Origin

China (made)

Date

1750-1895 (made)

Artist/maker

unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Dark pink glass with an overlay of dark green glass carved in relief

Dimensions

Height: 6.0 cm

Descriptive line

Snuff bottle, dark pink glass with an overlay of dark green glass carved in relief, 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

Techniques

Carving

Subjects depicted

Fish; Pavilion; Bat (animal); Crane (bird)

Categories

Containers; Personal accessories; Glass

Collection code

FEC

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Qr_O7997
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