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Snuff bottle

Snuff bottle

  • Place of origin:

    China (made)

  • Date:

    1800-1880 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Opaque greyish-white glass, with overlay of green glass carved in relief

  • Museum number:

    425-1880

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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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 rounded flattened flask form with no stopper.
It is made of glass, opaque greyish-white, with overlay of green glass carved in relief.
The decoration consists of a continuous design of lotus plants, birds and water.
There is no separate foot but instead a cradle of waves formed by the overlay and an angular indentation underneath.

Place of Origin

China (made)

Date

1800-1880 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Opaque greyish-white glass, with overlay of green glass carved in relief

Dimensions

Height: 6.2 cm

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.

Production Note

The original register entry states that this bottle was 'Fashioned in Pekin from material prepared in Shantung (Shandong)' and is nineteenth-century.

Materials

Glass

Techniques

Carving

Subjects depicted

Bird; Lotus

Categories

Containers; Personal accessories; Glass

Collection code

EAS

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Qr_O8291
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