Snuff Bottle
1890-1908 (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 | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Transparent grey glass bottle, painted on the inside in grey, black, green, white and red, with green glass stopper |
| Brief description | Cer, China, Qing, GLASS, INSIDE-PAINTED Cer, China, Qing, GLASS, INSIDE-PAINTED |
| Physical description | The bottle is an oblong flattened flask form with a dome shaped stopper. It is made of glass, transparent grey, painted on the inside in grey, black, green, white and red. The stopper is made of green glass. The decoration depicts a landscape with a boat on a lake, buildings, trees and mountains. There is an inscription meaning 'Done after the manner of Changbai Shanren' and on the reverse a bird singing on the branch of a tree peony growing among rocks. The high faceted foot has a shallow indentation underneath. Changbai Shanren. 'Hermit of the Long Mountain', would have been the studio name of the painter whose work was here being emulated. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (Chinese)
|
| Credit line | Given by Charles Lund, Esq. |
| Object history | Given by Mr. Charles Lund, accessioned in 1908. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| 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 | 554-1908 |
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| Record created | July 10, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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