Physical description
Snuff bottle, flattened octagonal flask with a curved oval panel on each side, cylindrical neck, no foot but with faceted indentation underneath. Opaque white glass painted in blue, red, green, purple, brown and black enamels with two figures walking in a landscape with a building, pine trees and a mountain in a distance; on the reverse with the same building and a figure standing by pine trees with mountains in a distance; faceted sides painted with formal rosettes in red on a blue ground. Dome-shaped coral stopper set in metal with incised decoration.
Place of Origin
China (made)
Date
1736-1795 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Glass painted in coloured enamels. Coral stopper set in metal, incised.
Dimensions
Height: 3.9 cm
Descriptive line
Snuff bottle, glass painted in coloured enamels, Beijing, China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign period, 1736-1795
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. pp. 134-135, plate 59.
Stevens, Bob C. The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles. New York: Weatherhill, 1976. p. 270, no. 972.
Kerr, Rose (ed). The T.T. Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art & Design. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1991. p. 137, no. 57.
Labels and date
Snuff bottle
Qianlong reign period
1736-1795
Snuff is powdered tobacco blended with aromatic herbs or spices. The habit of snuff-taking spread to China from the West during the 17th century.
Glass painted in coloured enamels,
Bronze stopper with coral inset
Imperial workshops, Beijing
Salting Bequest
Museum no. C.1583-1910 [2009]
C.1583-1910
Octagonal form with elliptical panel on each side; graduated stopper, dome-shaped at the top, with figure indentations. Glass, opaque white, with decoration in enamel colours, blue, red, green, purple, brown and black; stopper of coral set in brass with incise decoration. Two figures walking in a landscape, with a building, pine tree, and mountains in the distance; on reverse, the same building, a figure standing by the pine tree, and mountains in the distance; faceted surfaces have panels containing rosettes.
Illustrated in Stevens, p. 270 no. 972; the style and high quality of the landscapes suggests a date in the Qianlong period (1736-1795); it has been suggested that this bottle was made in the Beijing Palace Workshops.
No footrim; rectangular indentation underneath base.
1736-1795
H. 3.9cm
Salting Bequest. [pre 2005]
Production Note
The style and high quality of the landscapes strongly suggest that this bottle was made during the Qianlong period (1736-95). The enamelling is worn on the reverse and on the angles of the faceted side surfaces.
Materials
Glass; Metal; Coral
Techniques
Painted; Incised
Subjects depicted
Buildings; Mountains; Figure; Pine
Categories
Containers; Personal accessories; Glass
Collection code
EAS
