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 | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Scu, China, carving, chalcedony Scu, China, carving, chalcedony |
| Physical description | The bottle is an oval flattened flask form with a two-part stopper. It is made of chalcedony, tawny yellow and grey with brown inclusions, with decoration carved in relief. The stopper of white glass and carved coral. The carved decoration depicts three birds and a lotus. There is a lotus and a flying bird on the reverse and on the stopper a woman's head with mid-nineteenth century European hairstyle. The high foot has angular indentation underneath. The carved coral stopper is unusual. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Salting Bequest |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. 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 | C.1836&A-1910 |
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| Record created | July 23, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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