Snuff Bottle
1750-1909 (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 | Carved turquoise matrix with a carved coral stopper |
| Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, turquoise, with carved decoration depictng large flowers; Qing Dynasty, 1750-1909. |
| Physical description | The bottle is a pear-shaped vase form, slightly flattened, with a narrow cylindrical neck. It has a small dome-shaped stopper. The bottle is made of turquoise matrix, mottled green, with carved decoration; the stopper of coral, carved. The carving on the bottle depicts a large flower on each side, with a symmetrical net pattern of smaller flowers linking them; the stopper is carved with a plant. The foot has an indentation underneath. The carved decoration is obscured by the rough texture of the surface. |
| 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.1590-1910 |
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| Record created | August 6, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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