Snuff Bottle thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

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
  • Height: 6.1cm
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 createdAugust 12, 1998
Record URL
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