Glass snuff bottle, transparent, with bubbles and an overlay of red glass carved in relief, China, ca.19th century

The bottle is an oval flattened flask form with no stopper,
It is made of glass, transparent, with bubbles and an overlay of red glass carved in relief.
The decoration depicts a horse standing on a rock beneath a pine tree, whinnying, its mane and tail flared. On the reverse there is a horse on a rock beside magic fungus, its head and tail down, its ribs and spine prominent. There are clouds overhead.
The fat horse and the hungry horse were a subject used in painting as early as the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) to represent different attitudes to official duty.
For Kong Kai (1222-1307) the hungry horse represents the official who suffers for his refusal to serve under the new Mongol dynasty; for Ren Renfa (1255-1328) the hungry horse is the self-sacrificing official who accepts office under the Mongols and works hard, while the fat horse is the prosperous official who uses his position to enrich himself (Cahil, 1976, pp155-6). By the time the theme was used on this snuff bottle the decoration would probably have lost its Yuan period political connotations, and simply illustrate the contrast between corrupt and honest officialdom. While it is difficult to be precise about the significance of artistic and literary themes at different periods, this bottle was probably designed for a buyer who wished to be known as a person of scholarly taste.

Salting Bequest

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.

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.

C.1663-1910