Snuff Bottle thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Snuff Bottle

1870-1895 (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
Materials and techniques
Rock crystal with a stopper of jadeite jade and coral
Brief description
Chinese snuff bottle, rock crystal with jadeite jade and coral, Qing Dynasty; 1870-1895.
Physical description
The bottle is an extremely flattened form of a rectangle surmounted by a circle, the shoulders sloping up to a flared neck. It has a two-part flat-topped stopper.
The bottle is made of rock crystal, transparent, with the inside surface frosted white; the stopper of jadeite jade and coral.
The flat bottom of rectangle forms the base of the bottle and there is no foot.
The decorative interest of the bottle lies in its unusual and very elegant shape, and in the purity of the colour; it stands only precariously.
Dimensions
  • Height: 7.0cm
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.
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.1623-1910

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Record createdAugust 5, 1998
Record URL
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