Snuff Bottle
1850-1870 (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.
|
| Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, carved rock crystal, decoration depicts a coiled dragon with clouds, Qing Dynasty; 1850-1870. |
| Style | |
| Credit line | Wells Bequest |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Arthur Wells, accessioned in 1882. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Historical context | This bottle and its partner, 1637-1882, were loaned to the museum in 1872, ten years before their eventual acquisition in 1882. The standard of carving on both is of poor quality and probably dates from the nadir of Chinese craftsmanship in the 1850s and 1860s. Therefore they were fairly new when they first entered the museum, as indeed is suggested by the original register entries which describe them simply as 'Chinese' without claiming any age for them. |
| 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 | 1636-1882 |
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| Record created | August 5, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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