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Snuff bottle

Snuff bottle

  • Place of origin:

    China (made)

  • Date:

    1750-1895 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Mottled white glass, with an overlay of red glass partly cut away

  • Credit Line:

    Salting Bequest

  • Museum number:

    C.1568-1910

  • 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 is a flattened pear form with no stopper.
It is made of glass, mottled white, with an overlay of red glass partly cut away.
The decoration depicts a tree in blossom which spans both sides of the bottle. On one side are three boys, one at the top of a ladder pulling down a branch, the second beating the third and the smallest with a branch. On the reverse there are two boys running along a path towards a banana tree.
The high foot is formed by overlay with an angular indentation underneath.

Place of Origin

China (made)

Date

1750-1895 (made)

Artist/maker

unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Mottled white glass, with an overlay of red glass partly cut away

Dimensions

Height: 6.8 cm

Descriptive line

Mottled white glass snuff bottle, with an overlay of red glass partly cut away, China, ca.19th century

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

Trees; Boys; Ladders

Categories

Containers; Personal accessories; Glass

Collection code

FEC

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Qr_O8141
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