Snuff Bottle
1821-1850 (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 | Moulded porcelain with painted decoration |
Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, moulded porcelain, painted decoration depicts two crabs, Qing Dynasty; 1821-1850. |
Physical description | The bottle is an irregular pebble or gourd form with no stopper. It is made from porcelain moulded in relief and painted in grey and green. The decoration depicts two crabs amid rushes. The bottle does not have a foot or a base and it does not stand upright. The Chinese words for 'Two suits of armour (crabs) amid the rushes', Er jia chuan lu, are a pun on 'First place in the second class of the jinshi degree'. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Credit line | Boone Bequest |
Object history | Bequeathed by Mr. Thomas Boone, per Mrs. Temple (24 Ulster Place, Regents Park.), accessioned in 1903. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
Production | The colours and the style of decoration strongly suggest a Daoguang dating. |
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 | 914-1903 |
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Record created | August 12, 1998 |
Record URL |
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