Snuff Bottle thumbnail 1
Snuff Bottle thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Snuff Bottle

1821-1861 (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
Unglazed porcelain, moulded in relief
Brief description
Chinese snuff bottle, unglazed porcelain moulded in relief, decoration depicts a dragon chasing a flaming pearl, Qing Dynasty; 1821-1861.
Physical description
The bottle is a pear form, slightly flattened, without a stopper.
It is made of porcelain, unglazed, with decoration moulded in relief and finished by hand.
The moulded relief depicts a dragon chasing a flaming pearl amid clouds.
There is no separate foot and the flat base with an oval indentation underneath contains an incised mark Rongjing Zuo', 'made by Rongjing'.
Dimensions
  • Height: 6.5cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'Rongjing Zuo' (Chinese; underneath base; incising)
Translation
'made by Rongjing'.
Object history
Purchased from Dr. S. W. Bushell (Beijing), accessioned in 1883. 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
702-1883

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Record createdAugust 12, 1998
Record URL
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