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Snuff bottle

Snuff bottle

  • Place of origin:

    China (made)

  • Date:

    1750-1850 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Transparent glass with a white tinge, with overlay of red glass, carved in relief

  • Credit Line:

    Salting Bequest

  • Museum number:

    C.1558-1910

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

  • Download image

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 is a pear-shaped flattened flask form, the neck hole is wide in relation to the neck walls. It does not have a stopper.
It is made of transparent glass with a white tinge, with overlay of red glass carved in relief.
The decoration depicts a feng-huang (Chinese phoenix) flying and the sun, bearing the character ri, 'sun', in a cloud. On the reverse there is a feng-huang standing on one leg on a rock,wings extended, with a peony protruding from its head.
The low splayed foot is partly formed by the overlay, with shallow indentation underneath.

Place of Origin

China (made)

Date

1750-1850 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Transparent glass with a white tinge, with overlay of red glass, carved in relief

Dimensions

Height: 6.3 cm

Descriptive line

Snuff bottle, transparent glass with a white tinge, with overlay of red glass, carved in relief, China, 1750-1850

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

Rock; Dragon; Sun; Peony; Phoenix; Cloud

Categories

Containers; Personal accessories; Glass

Collection code

EAS

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Qr_O8122
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