Please complete the form to email this item.

Snuff bottle

Snuff bottle

  • Place of origin:

    China (made)

  • Date:

    1750-1795 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Porcelain, painted and gilded, with relief decoration

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Miss E. Mackworth Dolben

  • Museum number:

    831-1892

  • Gallery location:

    Ceramics Study Galleries, Asia & Europe, room 137, case 14, shelf 8

  • Download image

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.

Physical description

The bottle is a round flattened flask form with no stopper.
It is made of porcelain, painted in red and gilded, with relief decoration.
The decoration depicts a lotus. On the reverse there are flowering plants and on the shoulders, two squirrels and a vine in relief.
It has a high perforated foot with circular open-work motifs and there is a high indentation underneath.

Place of Origin

China (made)

Date

1750-1795 (made)

Artist/maker

unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Porcelain, painted and gilded, with relief decoration

Dimensions

Height: 5.6 cm

Descriptive line

Chinese snuff bottle, 1750-1795, Qing Dynasty; porcelain, painted and gilded, with relief decoration.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

White, Helen. Snuff Bottles from China. London: Bamboo Publishing Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992. 291p., ill. ISBN 1870076109.

Materials

Porcelain

Techniques

Painting (Image Making); Gilding

Subjects depicted

Flower; Lotus; Vines; Squirrel; Geometric pattern

Categories

Containers; Ceramics; Personal accessories

Collection code

EAS

Download image
Qr_O8998
Ajax-loader