Snuff Bottle
1920-1930 (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, with painted decoration and gilding |
Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, 1920-30, Qing dynasty; porcelain with painted decoration depicting peach sprays. |
Physical description | The bottle is an oblong flattened flask form with rounded shoulders and curving in towards the base. It does not have a stopper. It is made of porcelain, painted in red, blue, green and yellow and gilded. The decoration depicts peach sprays. There are borders of scrolling foliage around the neck, and lappets and dots at the base; a line of gilding at the base of the neck and at the top of the foot. The high receding foot has an indentation underneath; Qianlong (1736-95) mark in red regular script. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Marks and inscriptions | Qianlong (base) |
Credit line | W. G. Gulland Bequest |
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 | CIRC.710-1931 |
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Record created | September 16, 1998 |
Record URL |
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