Cer, China, Qing, GLASS, OVERLAY

The bottle is a bulbous oval flask form, slightly flattened, with no stopper.
It is made of glass, opaque greyish-white, with green and pink glass decoration applied.
The decoration depicts a flowering branch on each side.
The high curved foot is solid underneath.
This is one of two almost identical bottles in the collection; there are in existence several more bottles of this type, with applied and trailed glass decoration in pink and green and the same flowering branch. The application of fairly crude stamped pices of coloured glass as decoration, rather than carved overlay, suggests a date in the second hlaf of the nineteenth century, perhaps during the upheaval of the 1850's or 60's, or even later for a relatively unsophisticated tourist market. The acquisiton by the Museum of this bottle in 1897 makes it reasonable to assume that this bottle was made by 1895.

Acquisition method and source not identified in the Asia Department registers, accessioned in 1897. 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 in China (most snuff users were men) generally carried their snuff in a small bottle. Snuff bottles were made in and from a variety of shapes and materials. By the 20th century these bottles had become collectors' items, owing to the great variety of materials and decorative techniques used in their production.

IS.244-1897