Chinese snuff bottle, porcelain moulded in relief, painted decoration depicts the underside of a lotus flower, Qing Dynasty; ca. 1750.

The bottle is a round flattened flask form without a stopper.
It is made of porcelain, moulded in relief and painted in pink, green, blue, yellow and black with gilding.
The decoration depicts the underside of a lotus flower, with a butterfly. On the reverse there is a the underside of a lotus leaf with a butterfly. The neck of the bottle is in the form of a thick stem. On one shoulder are slender stems bound by ribbons which stream accross both sides of the bottle.
The foot is in the form of a lotus pod and the base is integrated into the design of the bottle.

Salting Bequest

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.

The quality of the enamelling, the modelling and the extensive gilding (now largely worn) indicate a mid-eighteenth century date.

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.

C.1700-1910