Snuff Bottle
1736-1795 (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, decorated with coloured glazes |
| Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, 1736-1795, Qing dynasty; porcelain, decorated with coloured glazes. |
| Physical description | The bottle is a Meiping vase form, with a cut down neck and the rim ground to a smooth surface. It does not have a stopper. It is made of porcelain, streaked with red, blue and brown glazes. It does not have a separate foot, the base is unglazed at the edge and there is a high glazed indentation underneath. The only evidence that this could have been adapted for use as a snuff bottle is the neck-rim, which has been ground to a flat surface. |
| 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. |
| 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 | 289-1905 |
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| Record created | September 16, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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