Snuff Bottle
1796-1900 (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 | Porcelain, covered with coloured enamels |
| Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, 1796-1900, Qing Dynasty; porcelain covered in coloured enamels. |
| Physical description | The bottle is a rectangular form with a cylindrical neck and no stopper. It is made of porcelain, covered with light blue of enamel, with details picked out in red and yellow. There are two raised panels on each side, resembling seals, with two fu ('blessing') characters in the upper panel and two xi ('joy') characters in the lower panel. High oval foot, unglazed at the edge, with a high glazed angular indentation underneath. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by W. G. Gulland, Esq. |
| Object history | Given by Mr. W. G. Gulland, accessioned in 1905. 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 | 306-1905 |
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| Record created | September 10, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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