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 | Opaque white glass, with an overlay of blue glass carved in relief |
| Brief description | Glass snuff bottle, opaque white, with an overlay of blue glass carved in relief, China, ca.19th century |
| Physical description | The bottle is a rounded flattened flask form, the shoulders sloping up to a cylindrical neck and no stopper. It is made of glass, opaque white with white flecks, with an overlay of blue glass carved in relief. The decoration depicts a catfish and lotus plants above waves. On the reverse there is a crab clinging to a water plant. The high splayed foot is partly formed by the overlay and there is an angular indentation underneath. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Salting Bequest |
| 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.1528-1910 |
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| Record created | July 7, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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