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 | Semi-opaque white glass with an overlay of red glass, carved in relief |
Brief description | Semi-opaque white glass snuff bottle, with an overlay of red glass, China, 1750-1895 |
Physical description | The bottle is a round flattened flask form and is made of semi-opaque white glass with an overlay of red glass carved in relief. The decoration depicts a monkey on a deer, picking a peach from a tree. On the reverse the Immortal Lan Caihe carries a basket on a pole and there is a bat overhead. On one shoulder, rocks from which magic fungus and the peach tree grow and on the other, a rock with peonies. The straight oval foot has an angular indentation underneath. The folk hero Sun Hou-tzu, a semi-divine monkey, stole some of the peaches of immortality; feng hou pao shou, 'crazy monkey grasping long life (peach)' makes a pun on a phrase meaning 'May you be ennobled and embrace longevity' (Cammann, 1962, pp. 124-5). |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Credit line | Salting Bequest |
Object history | 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. |
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.1556&A-1910 |
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Record created | June 29, 1998 |
Record URL |
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